Michael O’Connor

Off-Broadway Review: “Pumpgirl” at Irish Repertory Theatre’s W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

December 27, 2019 | irish repertory, Off-Broadway, pumpgirl > | "Pumpgirl", Abbie Spallen, Carol Rosegg, Clare O'Malley, Fan Zhang, Hamish Allan-Headley, Irish Repertory Theatre, Labhaoise Magee, Michael O’Connor, Molly Seidel, Nicola Murphy, W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre, Yu-Hsuan Chen

The strength of Abbie Spallen’s “Pumpgirl,” currently running at Irish Rep’s W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre, lies in the playwright’s authentic characters and their believable conflicts that connect to the timeless vicissitudes of the human condition. The pumpgirl (a lachrymose yet enlightened Labhaoise Magee) at the petrol station in present day County Armagh, Northern Ireland fantasizes night and day about…

Off-Broadway Review: “Little Gem” at Irish Repertory Theatre

Over the period of a year, three generations of Irish women share their stories ad seriatim while in a medical office waiting room. Amber (a spitfire Lauren O’Leary) rehearses her life from taking her beau Paul to a wedding, to his abandoning her after discovering she is pregnant with his child. Amber’s “ma” Lorraine (a pensive and seemingly broken Brenda…

Off-Broadway Review: “Hal & Bee” at 59E59 Theaters

What are two aging ex-hippies supposed to do when the socio-political environment around them escalates its full-frontal assault on the values they espoused and fought so passionately for in the sixties and seventies? Not only do they continue to feel “stalked” by “corporate bastards” like the cable company, but they are about to be evicted from their rent-controlled apartment on…