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Arrah-na-Pogue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arrah-na-Pogue, also known as Arrah-na-Pogue; or the Wicklow Wedding, is a play in 3 acts by Dion Boucicault. Along with The Colleen Bawn (1860) and The Shaughraun (1874), it is considered one of the three major Irish plays penned by Boucicault.[1] Set during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the play popularized the street ballad The Wearing of the Green; a rendition of which was included in the play with lyrics by Boucicault.[2] It has had an enduring place in the canon of dramatic literature on the stage internationally, and has been adapted into other media.

History

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Arrah-na-Pogue premiered on November 7, 1864, at the Theatre Royal, Dublin. The cast included Boucicault, Samuel Johnson, John Brougham and Samuel Anderson Emery among others.[3] The work had its first staging in London's West End at the Princess's Theatre, London on 22 March 1865.[4]

The United States premiere of the play was presented in New York City at the Broadway theatre Niblo's Garden on July 21, 1865, where it ran for 68 performances.[5] It has been revived twice on Broadway; first as Niblo's Garden in 1869, and then at the Fourteenth Street Theatre in 1903.[6]

The play was mounted at the Abbey Theatre in 2010.[7] The play was performed Off-Broadway in New York City by the Storm Theatre Company at the Theatre of the Church of Notre Dame in 2012.[8]

The play's central character, Shaun the Post, was both an inspiration and object of parody for James Joyce's character Shaun the Postman in his 1939 novel Finnegans Wake.[9]

Adaptations

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References

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  1. ^ Thomson, p. 12
  2. ^ Beiner, p. 95-96
  3. ^ "Samuel Johnson c.1830-1900 A Life from the Grave, by Jennie Bisset". The Irving Society. November 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13.
  4. ^ Morash & Grene, p. 148
  5. ^ Fisher, p. 42
  6. ^ Fisher, p. 420
  7. ^ Peter Crawley (December 23, 2010). "Arrah-na-Pogue, Abbey Theatre, Dublin". The Irish Times.
  8. ^ Lisa Jo Sagolla (August 15, 2012). "Arrah na Pogue (Arrah of the Kiss)". Backstage.
  9. ^ Van Mierlo, p. 20
  10. ^ MacKillop, p. 214
  11. ^ Ryan, Joseph J. (October 2009). "White, Harold R. ('Dermot Macmurrough')". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.008998.v1.
  12. ^ Martin Grams (2000). Radio Drama: A Comprehensive Chronicle of American Network Programs, 1932-1962. McFarland & Company. p. 204. ISBN 9780786400515.

Bibliography

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