Happy Birthday Mr. Friel

NYC had many birthday celebrations this past week-end, marking the 80th year of Brian Friel. The famously reclusive playwright was, of course, not in attendance.

Friday, the Irish Arts Center had "A Tribute" evening featuring Jeremy Bobb (Translations), Hannah Cabell (A Man for All Seasons, In the Next Room), Orlagh Cassidy (Our Country's Good, Present Laughter, Aristocrats), Dashiell Eaves (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Coram Boy, Becky Shaw), Geraldine Hughes (Translations, Belfast Blues), Jan Maxwell (Dancing at Lughnasa, Coram Boy, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Peter Scanavino (Shining City, subUrbia), and Fiona Walsh (The Shaughran, Da). Many of these lovely people have appeared many times in this blog during the last year.

The starry evening was hosted by director Patrick Mason, who, speaking of today's Tony Award nominations, won best director for handling Dancing at Lughnasa.

Mr. Mason appeared the next day at the Glucksman House's afternoon of stars, academic stars, brought to NYC by Cultural Ireland to further the celebration of Friel. It was a fantastic afternoon filled with more info than I can cram into this space, but two useful items brought back to the suburbs were Dr. Eamon Hughes' podcast on BBC NI:

and the idea (author unknown) that novelists don't make good playwrights. That is an idea I am sure to present to Sebastian Barry tonight at his reading of The Sacred Scripture at NYU's Glucksman Ireland House.