The Irish Curse

A few projects emerge from the NYC International Fringe Theatre Festival for a commercial run and Martin Casella’s comedy THE IRISH CURSE is one of those lucky few. Director Matt Lenz continues from the Fringe as director along with several members of the Fringe cast. Fringe no longer, the little show about group therapy for men who are less than endowed, pops and crackles with some very funny jokes, inciting guffaws from the audience. However, there are only so many jokes about the male member that can keep you laughing before they wear out their welcome. The other main source of humor is the idea that this group is being run by a priest, Father Kevin Shaunessy (Scott Jaeck), in a meeting room of a Catholic church. So, there are the jokes of saying inappropriate things in front of a priest and these too, get old. The second half of this 90 minute intermissionless play takes a more serious turn, so we do get some drama, but the main thrust is the character study of five very different men with one thing in common.

The first guy in the door is Joseph Flaherty, usually played by Dan Butler, but it was Bill Timoney at the performance I caught and he seemed perfect for the role of a middle-aged divorced business man. Right away he is joined by 22 year old Rick (Brian Leahy), who stuffs a sock in his jock strap to win second glances from women. Austen Peck of the TV soap opera world plays Stephen, the ultra-handsome studly cop, who also happens to be gay. Finally, there is an Irishman actually from Ireland named Kieran, played beautifully by Roderick Hill with expert timing and emotional realism. All the performances are excellent, the cast seemingly ideal, the direction swift and sure, but what does it amount to? This is a situation comedy that topically warranted one 30 minute episode and was stretched into three. I would have liked to spend time with this collection of diverse characters and their complicated package of issues, but this would mean a setting of a broader scope that allowed for it. Mr. Casella has developed a fine batch of characters that are very interesting to see work with and against each other. They might not have been friends outside of the support group, but their common issue creates a kind of brotherhood that is touching and transcends all of their differences, which causes an entertaining friction. When the play comes to an end, a definite warmhearted feeling prevails, but the limited story feels contrived and too much is accomplished in the one session to feel believable. In the end, the play is not much more than a harness for phallic humor with a little Catholic ribbing on the side.