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The Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents The World Premiere of THE CRAIC

1/21/2025

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The cast of The Milwaukee Repertory Theater's World Premiere play, THE CRAIC, by Mark Clements & Deanie Vallone, through March 16, 2025 at the Stackner Cabaret in Milwaukee. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

By Mary Boyle

Who needs Valentine’s Day and a heart-shaped box of chocolates when you can have St. Patrick’s Day and an Irish coffee, a pint of Guiness, or “a drop of the cratur” (whiskey) in a cozy snug with a session band playing some lively jigs and reels?  No, you don’t need to book a ticket to Ireland, just get a ticket to The Milwaukee Rep’s new World Premiere production, THE CRAIC, written by The Rep’s Artistic Director Mark Clements and Deanie Vallone.  The Rep’s Stackner Cabaret has been transformed into McCann’s Pub through March 16th, where you can get your fill of both Irish fare and Irish music, right in downtown Milwaukee.

Craic (pronounced like “crack”) means “a good time” in Irish, as in, “There’s good craic at the Milwaukee Irish Fest!”  There’s also good craic at McCann’s Pub in Dingle because they run a great Irish music session with talented musicians: Kathleen (Megan Loomis), the owner, Christy (Alexander Sovronsky), the bartender, and siblings Aoife (Claire-Frances Sullivan) and Ciarán (Trevor Lindley Craft).  This is a special session because it’s a going away party for Ciarán, who’s moving to the States with his American wife.  Aoife’s been running the sessions for years, but when John (Luke Darnell) shows up at the pub after a decade of playing around the world with a popular band, he throws a bit of a wrench into the evening.

Directed by Mark Clements, The Craic is a funny and poignant show with an incredible soundtrack, performed live by a cast made up entirely of actors who can also sing and play instruments.  In fact, they each play multiple instruments throughout the evening – even rotating through them over the course of one song at one point in the show.  The songs are all recognizable to any Irish music enthusiast: “Irish Rover,” “Wild Rover,” “Star of the County Down,” “Danny Boy,” “The Black Velvet Band,” “The Rocky Road to Dublin,” “Tell Me Ma,” The Parting Glass,” and more, including a couple of songs in Irish.  The band is so good that the story part of the show is almost unnecessary, though it has enough romance to count as a good date night, for those of you who want to celebrate Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day in one evening.

Megan Loomis, who was seen in last season’s Run Bambi Run as Laurie Bembenek’s mother, returns to The Rep as Kathleen, the owner of McCann’s, and plays the stand up bass, violin, and more, as well as lending her beautiful voice.  Luke Darnell makes his Rep debut as John, playing guitar and other stringed instruments, as well as adding some romance to the production as Kathleen’s old flame.  NYC based actors Alexander Sovronsky and Claire-Francis Sullivan are the most instrument-diverse of the cast, playing violin, banjo, flute, piano, and a variety of stringed instruments between the two of them.  Sullivan’s voice is enchanting and her “Danny Boy” duet with Loomis is noteworthy.  Trevor Lindley Craft rounds out the cast as Ciarán, playing mainly guitar and singing a good number of sea shanties in the lineup, as well as adding a fair bit of romance to the story, despite the fact that we never meet his American wife.

Dan Kazemi has been the music director for over 30 shows at The Rep, including Run Bambi Run, Titanic The Musical, West Side Story, In the Heights, Guys and Dolls, and Man of La Mancha, among others.  Being a massive fan of Irish music, myself, I didn’t always care for the arrangements that strayed away from the traditional; nonetheless, Kazemi is truly a musical wizard, as this show is the next best thing to a trip to an actual Irish pub, but far more affordable.  Make reservations before the show for dinner and order from The Full Craic Menu, featuring Irish-inspired dishes such as colcannon soup, shepherd’s pie, or a reuben sandwich, and get the full Irish experience.    

THE CRAIC runs through March 16, 2025, in the Stackner Cabaret, located at 108 East Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee.  To purchase tickets, go to www.MilwaukeeRep.com, call the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or visit in person at 108 E Wells Street in Downtown Milwaukee.  For more information, please visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com.
​
 
About Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Milwaukee Rep is the largest performing arts organization in Wisconsin with its new artistic home in the Associated Bank Theater Center opening Fall 2025 with three unique performance venues –the Ellen & Joe Checota Powerhouse Theater, Herro-Franke Studio Theater and Stackner Cabaret.  For over seven decades, Milwaukee Rep has been a centerpiece of Milwaukee’s vibrant arts and cultural scene with productions ranging from Broadway musicals to Shakespeare to American Classics and New Works that are entertaining, inclusive and impactful.  Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mark Clements and Executive Director Chad Bauman, Milwaukee Repertory Theater ignites positive change in the cultural, social and economic vitality of its community by creating world-class theater experiences that entertain, provoke and inspire meaningful dialogue among an audience representative of Milwaukee’s rich diversity. More information is available at www.MilwaukeeRep.com

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    Mary Boyle

    Reviewing live theatre in Wisconsin since 2014.  Proud member of the American Theatre Critics Association.

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