ROGUE MACHINE PRESENTS CORKTOWN 39

 

 

 

Ann Noble & Ron Bottitta Photos by Jeff Lorch

World Premiere of  John Fazakerley's "Corktown '39" .. based on actual events and real people.. , dredges up deep feelings for the Irish:  undeniable passions and politics that .. though not exactly paralell to today's current threat to the United States, the issues of   Ireland and Self Rule and how to get there .. to get from beneath the Jack- boot  of British rule,, bubbles like a cauldron of Mutton Stew! 

Steven Robman  directs a cast of dedicated professionals,  looking back to over eightyfive years  steeped in Irish Americans' efforts  to make the Auld Sod free. Revelations of political ties between Ireland and looming  tyranny in Europe are forceful and troubling.   Was an alliance with Hitler on the horizon?

John Fazakerley's plays have been compared to O'Neill.. which I can see, but the relationships between the  members of the Keating family and the morals of zealots and a hired gun  spark an Arthur Miller tone.  Fazakerley's Keatings are soldiers..if not in the Irish Republican Army, certainly Clan na Erin, an American auxillary that held huge rallies to support the war against the British.

A story unknown to me, that at this time in world histroy, as Hitler and the Nazi party were rolling into power;  setting up camps like Dachau, the Irish were in business with Germany for arms.  World History and the soldiers who were 'in the American trneches' comes to life..

Having just been slapped silly by Ann Noble (Kate) in the recent Ghost Road production of The Unraveling  .. It's no suprise that Kate, the IRA soldier she portrays sizzles in accord with others who are doing their darndest to find ways to defeat the Brits with bombs, In Kate Bergh's perfect wardrobe, Noble and the others are costumed to perfection. 

Ron Bottitta, just back from New York with the Fountain's 'Fatherland!" (edit.. with apologies to all who embrace parenting)  brings Mike Keating to life in a complicated way .

Mike's son, Frank, the All American kid,, Kate's teen brother, has his work cut out for him with a stage full of seasoned and no nonsense actors.The kid holds his own!

The chain of command from the American Clan na Gael commander Joseph McGarrity (Peter Van Norden) reveals health issues that factor in.)  The infighting with firebrand Sean Russell (excellent and amped JD Cullum) presses hard for Martin Connor  (Jeff Lorch) an imported Irish sniper, to go against his mother's wishes and his own personal moral core.  "You should always listen to your mother!"  

As Tim,  Thomas Vincent Kelly sets a tone with a lesson in personal ethics regarding  the IRA's campaign to bomb British utilities  Tim  has been briefly a paramour with Kate.  Tim also devulges vital informaton that steers the play to a dark conclusion.

Each character is drawn in three dimensions and the production  sails along at a brisk pace .  The Matrix stage is a challenging one.. but even the audience at the far sides of the house are included intimately. 

To gush further about this production, in total it is the kind of art with a slightly boosted theatrical style, that  draws us in, especially with the issue or our own democracy at stake today. . It feels current.

It's such a pleasure to be drawn in and to care about  the Keatings and even understand, in an odd way,  Sean Russell's fervor. Russell,  I learned, may still have  a monument in Dublin that was regularly tagged with swastikas and the colors of the German flag. In 1940 Russell lost his life when being ferried back to Ireland in a German U Boat! 

Has Broadway come to Melrose?  In a word:  "Corktown '39" has all the makings of a beautifully staged theatrical event!  Highly recommended.    

CAST:
Kaitlin ‘Kate’ Keating   ... Ann Noble
Michael ‘Mike’ Keating ... Ron  Bottitta  
Francis ‘Frank’ Keating  ..Tommy McCabe
Martin Connor  .. ............  Jeff Lorch
Tim Flynn .  ...........Thomas Vincent Kelly
Sean Russell ..  ...............  JD Cullum
Joseph McGarrity ......... Peter Van Norden

PRODUCTION TEAM: Mark Mendelson (Scenic Design), Dan Weingarten (Lighting Design), Chris Moscatiello (Sound Design), Kate Bergh (Costume Design), Ned Mochel (Violence Design), Megan Trapani (Prop Design), Grant Gerrard (Technical Director), Lauren Lovett (Dialect Coach), Celina Surniak (Intimacy Coordinator), Bill Voorhees (Carpenter), Nate Fox (Master Electrician), Victoria Hoffman (Casting), John Perrin Flynn, Athena Saxon (Producers)

"Corktown '39"   A World Premiere
 by John Fazakerley

Opening at 8pm on Saturday, April 12, 2025

8pm Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays; 

2pm Sundays through May 25, 2025

(no performance on Monday April 14, 21, and May 12)

The play contains adult language. Viewer discretion is advised

 

Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046