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Testimonials & Reviews "Last season, we once again broke many box office records and were delighted to present the record-breaking runs of Tony n' Tina’s Wedding and Finnegan’s Farewell." Thomas T. Kazmierczak III Executive Director Lancaster Opera House Reviews By Martin Denton, TheaterMania With Finnegan's Farewell, it looks like producer Joe Corcoran has another hit show on his hands; it joins the seemingly indestructible Tony n' Tina's Wedding as another interactive theatrical treat for New Yorkers and tourists alike. Like Tony n' Tina, Finnegan's Farewell starts in a church and then moves on to a nearby restaurant for a post-ceremony buffet. And--again like Tony n' Tina--Finnegan provides audience members with plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with the eccentric and outrageous members of an unsurpassingly ethnic (read stereotyped) clan--before, during, and, especially, after the evening's supposed main event. This time they're Irish, not Italian. So the food, which is plentiful and tasty, is corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. The libation, which is available at a convenient though slightly pricey bar in the rear of the restaurant, tends more toward beer than wine. And the family drama--a silly, somewhat contrived thing about Finnegan drunkenly falling off a ladder and dying shortly after winning a million dollar jackpot in Atlantic City--features feuding siblings, a bereaved widow, and a mysterious mini-skirted woman of a certain age who may or may not have been an intimate associate of the deceased. Actually the writing is fairly sharp, particularly in the funeral sequence, what with the whimsical priest making all manner of bizarre allusions to the likes of Kierkegaard and Oprah Winfrey, and the sudden but not-too-surprising appearance of a long-lost relative. It's a pretty carefree (and careless) service, though; and happily, the story is quickly forgotten by the time we settle in at the restaurant for part two of the evening, The wake rapidly morphs into a diverting variety show, featuring musical turns from many of the Finnegans and their friends. Highlights include some attractive crooning from the elder Finnegan boy, an impressive specialty number by Finnegan's son-in-law, and the dazzling footwork of Finnegan's elder daughter, who is joined by five spirited and talented young ladies who call themselves The River Kids. Finnegan's Farewell is good-natured, light-hearted fun: an easygoing hybrid of dinner theatre, improv comedy, and cabaret that delivers smiles on the faces of all participants--actors and audience alike. Come prepared to eat, drink, and be merry, and to engage in some relaxed and non-threatening conversation and activity with the appealing cast members. Follow directions and relax, and you'll have a good time: you might even find yourself bringing your date onto the dance floor for the evening's cheery finale. Theatergoers Join the Family at this Irish Wake By Michael Sommers Star-Ledger Staff NEW YORK - Did you hear the news? Old Paddy Finnegan croaked, poor soul, shortly after winning $2 million in an Atlantic City slot machine. Tumbled off a ladder, he did, and for a minute his wife Maggie assumed Paddy had merely passed out - as was his wont, you know, for he liked his drop - but no, instead the old boy passed away. Mother o' mercy, 25 years of slaving down at the post office, one bit of grand good luck - and now this! 'Tis a cryin' shame. Anyway, there's going to be a service followed by a farewell celebration and a reading of Paddy's will. And you're all invited. Finnegan's Farewell, a new interactive entertainment from the makers of Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding, that long-running spoof of Italian-American matrimonial rites, lampoons Irish-American family customs. It all begins in the basement sanctuary of St. Luke's Church, where Father Seamus vainly tries to keep the service going smoothly. But Paddy's eldest, Patrick, insists on singing every last verse of "Danny Boy," and other relatives vie to get into the act. Then, when Maggie insists on taking one last look at Paddy, the mortician confesses that they've somehow misplaced the cadaver. The good news is that Paddy has been shipped to a parlor out in Weehawken, N.J., and while they go retrieve him, everybody else can walk over to Vinnie ("The Cadillac of Caterers") Black's Coliseum in the Hotel Edison and enjoy the wake. So with a kilted bagpipe player skirling out mournful airs, everyone follows the empty coffin across Eighth Avenue, past the bemused theatergoers outside "Footloose," and downstairs into the hotel party room, decorated with shamrock-green bunting. The reek of corned beef and cabbage hangs heavy in the air because a meal is served right away, complete with boiled potatoes and a blessing from Father Seamus, who appears to be getting boiled himself. Despite Paddy's financial windfall, other mourners have to buy their own drinks at a cash bar. Still, it's a cheerful event, as wakes go. There's a lively five-piece Irish band, The Dublineers, complete with bodhran and bazuki, and they merrily play everyone's favorites. Erin Finnegan Gilboy, who coaches a Paramus, N.J., troupe of step-dancers starring her daughter Bridget, trots the girls out to show off their footwork. Meanwhile, other family members pass among the tables, revealing bits of dirty laundry. There's bad blood between Erin and her hippie sister Colleen, who wrangle ferociously, and younger son Brian is a fire department hunk with roamin' hands for the lasses. The most embarrassing guest is the well-named Busty Quivers, Paddy's lady friend from Atlantic City, whose uninvited appearance incenses the widow no end. "Who IS that?" hisses Maggie, as grief-stricken Busty noisily keeps fainting all over the place. Well, between the dancing, singing, eating, drinking and family feuding, Finnegan's Farewell spins along for 21/2 hours quickly. Scripted by Kevin Alexander and staged by Chuck Santoro, this dizzy show doesn't possess nearly the bizarre detail of the matchless "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding." Still, for folks who don't find this funereal situation basically creepy and who enjoy interactive events, it's a fairly amusing time. Being Irish-American helps, of course, and so does a willingness to play along with the performers. An Irish wake -- and You're Invited By Joseph Hurley Irish Echo Newspaper FINNEGAN'S FAREWELL, an interactive musical comedy by Kevin Alexander. Directed by Chuck Santoro. The Italians have one. The Jews had one for a while. So why shouldn't the Irish have one of their own? That's apparently the thinking behind Finnegan's Farewell, billed as the "new interactive musical comedy," which opened this past week and will continue to play twice a week, on Wednesday evenings and Saturday matinees, starting at St. Luke's Church, 308 West 46th St., and then moving across Eighth Avenue to "Vinnie Black's Coliseum, the Cadillac of Caterers," in the basement of the Edison Hotel. Tony n' Tina's Wedding, the show that started this sort of audience-participation production, has now moved uptown from its West Village origins, and is in its 12th year, having outlasted a good percentage of "real" marriages. The Jewish attempt to come up with something roughly equivalent, Aunt Sylvia's Funeral, faltered and closed after a relatively brief run. Finnegan's Farewell, as the title might indicate, is structured around an Irish funeral, followed by a slightly unclassifiable "celebration" featuring a team called the RiverKids Dance Troupe and a band advertised as "the Dublineers," not to mention a hot table laden with corned beef and cabbage and, it goes without saying, boiled potatoes. Meanwhile, the Finnegan family saga, as written by Kevin Alexander, one of the creators and original performers of Tony n' Tina's Wedding, goes on including a corpse with an identity crisis, at least one somewhat alienated sibling, an outrageously "wronged" wife, a pneumatic mistress the "deceased" head of household, a longtime postal employee, encountered on a gambling sojourn to Atlantic City, plus a hard-drinking son who's a member of the New York Fire Department. The level of the affable endeavor's humor might best be indicated by the name attached to the "friend" Paddy Finnegan acquired at the New Jersey slot machines, Busty Quivers. As played, full out, by Sharon Angela, she is and she does. Finnegan's Farewell is good, hearty fun, but don't go expecting its wit and insight to rival Moliere. The new show shares St. Luke's with Late Night Catechism and occupies "Vinnie Black's," for the present at least, on one night and one afternoon when the folks from Tony n' Tina's Wedding aren't laying out the lasagna. The event begins before the audience even enters the church, with a solitary piper playing the familiar slow movement from Dvorak's New World Symphony as he stands on the 46th Street curbstone watching the crowd assemble. After roughly 30 minutes in the church, the audience and the actors, the latter rigorously and admirably remaining within the parameters of their assigned characters, make their sometimes perilous passage across the avenue and up the block to the hall, one brief flight of stairs beneath the Edison. From the outset, even before the short journey to "Vinnie Black's," the line separating the audience from the event seems to blur, and, as the old baseball hawkers used to say, "You can't tell the players without a scorecard." On a recent evening, a woman was heard to say, "This is the most fun I've had since 'Tina Turner's Wedding.' " Either she was one of the actors, or a slightly mind-fogged patron, or she had indeed, long ago, been in attendance when Ike and Tina tied the Gordian knot. Chuck Santoro, the inventive director of Finnegan's Farewell, has cobbled together an unusually credible cast for the new effort, with, among the standouts, Norma Crawford as the vengeful wife, Maggie, Bart Shatto and Tade Reen, as Patrick and Brian, the Finnegan sons, and Erin Pender and Christine Siracusa as the family daughters, Erin and Colleen. Mark Aldrich and Elizabeth Nagangast perform yeoman service as, respectively, Erin's husband, Jimmy, and Patrick's fiancee, Brooke. Not directly related, but nonetheless effective, are Shawn McLean as Tyrone Jefferson, a colleague of the deceased's from his post office days, Roger Rifkin as Max Goldstein, the family lawyer, Robert R. Oliver as Bill Buckley, the mortician, and Katherine O'Sullivan as Katherine Buckley, the embalmer. Elton Laron is fine as a break-dancing waiter, Elton McGuire, as are Darren Dooley as Father Seamus and, in his subdued way, Tommy Carroll, who turns in a suitable quiet performance as the corpse, "a man loved by everyone." The RiverKids, a five-girl aggregation made up of Meaghan Ginnetty, Kerry Hannigan, and the Geerlings sisters, Meaghan, Siobhan and the youngest, Bridget, are great crowd-pleasers, as are the Dublineers, with John Geerlings on keyboards, Robert Allen on bodhran, Terry McKee on bazuki and the brother-and-sister team of Marie and Martin Reilly on, respectively, fiddle and accordion. Finnegan's Farewell aims to provide a rip-roaring good time, and, within its limitations, it pretty much delivers. Be warned, though, the bar at "Vinnie Black's" gets $5 for a beer, even domestic. |
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