Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel

Directed by Erin Nicole Harrington

Fridays & Saturdays 7:30 PM, Sundays 2:00 PM
Tickets: $30 Adults, $15 Students 21 and Under

This extraordinary play follows five unmarried sisters eking out their lives in a small village in Ireland in 1936. We meet them during the festival of Lughnasa, a time of drunken revelry and dancing in honor of the pagan god of the harvest. Their spare existence is interrupted by brief, colorful bursts of music from the radio, their only link to the romance and hope of the world beyond. The action unfolds through the memory of the illegitimate son of one of the sisters as he recalls the five women who raised him—his mother and four maiden aunts.

He is only seven in 1936, the year his malaria-stricken uncle, a priest, returns after twenty-five years as a missionary in a Ugandan leper colony. That summer, two other disturbances shake his world. The sisters acquire their first radio, whose music transforms them from correct Catholic women to shrieking, stomping banshees in their own kitchen as they launch into a wild Irish step dance. And he meets his father for the first time—a charming Welsh drifter who strolls up the lane and sweeps his mother away in an elegant dance across the fields.

From these small events spring the cracks that will shatter the foundation of the family forever. Widely regarded as Brian Friel’s masterpiece, this haunting play is a tribute to the spirit and valor of rural life.

 

Cast and Creative Team

 

Dan Costello (Michael) is an actor, writer, and musician. He is proud to be making his Hubbard Hall debut. Having grown up in Albany NY and lived 20 years in Brooklyn, Dan and his family now reside in Washington County. Dan has performed all over the region including at The Rep, NYSTI, Park Playhouse and Fort Salem Theater, and received critical acclaim as Charles Guiteau in “Assassins” at Playhouse Stage Company. Dan is also the writer and composer of a new full-length original musical, “ICU”, which debuted in November at Fort Salem. His immersive play “The Forest of Feelings” was commissioned by New York City Children’s Theater and will tour across the five boroughs of NYC this fall. Dan is the recipient of a 2024 LARAC Community Arts Grant, and was an Artist-In-Residence at the Sable Arts Project last summer. He is also the co-founder of Yo Re Mi, partner to Rachel, and proud dad to E and R, who have each been the inspiration for Michael. As a musician, Dan has released thirteen albums of original music, toured to more than twenty countries, and plays locally with several great bands including Dead Residents. BFA Acting, Syracuse University. Proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. IG: @tincanshaker. This one is for Pat Reilly.

Ted DeBonis (Jack)

Ted has been active in theater for many years.  He last appeared at Hubbard Hall as Sam Clemens(Twain) in Warren Schultz’s “Grant’s Ghost”.   “This one’s for my favorite Irish lass, Rita O’Neil.”

Neeley Dessaint (Maggie) made her community theater debut in 2023 at Fort Salem Theaters Footloose as the adorable LuLu Warnicker. Absolutely loving the thrill of the stage Neeley again appeared at Fort Salem Theaters The Drowsy Chaperone (Ensemble, Reporter one, Monkey), and Our Town (Woman in Balcony, Constable Warren, Man in Grave).  Neeley was absolutely bowled over for the opportunity to perform in her favorite holiday story, A Christmas Carol, The Radio play produced by One Room Theatrics. She was able to hone her vocal skills representing nine separate characters. Eager to refine her vocal technique experimenting with different accents, Neeley explores this wonderful opportunity with enthusiasm portraying Maggie Mundy. She hopes you enjoy the show and have a good craic! 

 

Michael Giordano (Gerry) hails from Cambridge, New York.  He is honored to dance at Lughnasa on the Hubbard Hall grand stage.  He recently appeared as Sebastian in the Hubbard Hall production of Twelfth Night, and subsequently in the Fort Salem Theater production of Our Town.  He also sings tenor in the Battenkill Chorale.  After years of training in kitchens of renown, peppered with episodes of preposterous interdimensional travel, Michael has settled into his biggest role yet as culinary instructor to an oatmeal-gobbling two-year-old.  When not working, cooking, acting, or singing, Michael can be found strolling around the block listening to birdsong, or occasionally nestled at Canteen Coffee Co reading Ch 80 of the Tao Te Ching with a bowl of hot soup.

Tess could dance all night, all week, all MONTH with delight to be a part of this incredibly talented Mundy (okay fine, and Evans) family! With Hubbard Hall: Twelfth Night (Olivia). Other recent favorites: Macbeth (Lady Macbeth); Legally Blonde (Elle), both with Walloomsac River Theatre Company; A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Titania, Fort Salem Theater); Players (Josie/Anne, Bennington Theater); Comedy of Errors(Adriana, Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park); Voices for Peace (Kathy Kelly, Creative Action Unlimited); Pride & Prejudice (Jane/Anne de Bourgh, FST); Hurricane Diane (Beth, Harbinger Theatre); ALIEN/NATION (Janie, Williamstown Theatre Festival); The Haunting of Hill House (Eleanor, Bennington Community Theatre); All My Sons (Ann, Sand Lake Center for the Arts). Winnie and Dali, your purrs and snuggles keep me going. Agus, go raibh maith agaibh, mo theaghlach–my real-life family–past and present, in and from Barran, Blacklion, Ballinalee, and Sligo, for the love and inspiration. Special love to my cousin Mairead, mo anam cara. Sláinte!

Sarah Murphy (Kate) (she/her) is thrilled to be making her Hubbard Hall debut. Locally, she directed and appeared in Our Town in 2024, directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2023, and appeared in Pride and Prejudice (Mrs. Bennet) in 2022, all at Fort Salem Theater. Sarah is co-director of Tiny Box Theater with whom she has participated as dramaturg, story collaborator, voice artist, performer, and tiny box operator in New York City and on the road in Massachusetts, Toronto, and at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. Sarah directed Romeo & Juliet, Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, and As You Like It at the Browning School in Manhattan, where she also wrote and directed several very short plays for very young actors. Some of Sarah’s favorite acting appearances have been with Bakerloo Theatre Project in Round Lake, Troy, and New York City (Beatrice in Much Ado; Viola in Twelfth Night, Varya in The Cherry Orchard, Masha in Three Sisters and others) and at the theater at Bread Loaf in Ripton, VT (Cassandra in Troilus and Cressida, ensemble in U.S.A.). Since November 2021, Sarah has served as the Library Director at Greenwich Free Library. Sarah has also worked as a school librarian and teacher of literature and theater.

 

Betsy Wilcox (Agnes) is thrilled to be making her debut on the Hubbard Hall stage! Most recently she was the properties designer for 100 Saints You Should Know with Schenectady Civic Playhouse. Her last onstage appearance was with the Highlight Acting Troupe in Miracle on 34 th Street, the play. She wants to give a great big thank you to Erin for giving her the opportunity to spread her wings and try something completely different, Moe for her tireless backstage efforts, her sons AJ and Matt for encouraging her and helping her run lines and lastly to her partner, J, for being her rock and always pushing her to do her very best. Look for her soon as the stage manager with Harbinger Theatre’s upcoming production of At The Wedding!

 

Jewel Winant is a senior at Ualbany majoring in theater and minoring in acting and psychology. She began taking acting classes at age 7 and has been in nearly 40 productions. 

Most recently she has portrayed the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show, the Prosecution Lawyer/others in Machinal, Katherine in Taming of the Shrew, and Amanda in The Glass Menagerie on the Ualbany stage. She had her first professional acting credit in Capital Repertory’s One Act Festival last spring. 

She has recently accepted an offer from Shakespeare Theatre Company’s MFA in classical acting in Washington DC, and looks forward to finishing out her education with them before pursuing theatre and acting professionally. 

As an autistic woman, she has found a lot of meaning in getting to portray Rose in this production and would like to thank director Erin Harrington for being open and willing to cast the role authentically. She firmly believes that autistic and neurodiverse voices belong in all spaces that other voices belong and is grateful for Hubbard Hall’s goals towards inclusivity. She would also like to thank her immensely talented fellow cast members for welcoming her into the mix. 

Creative Team:

Erin Nicole Harrington (Director)

Erin is a North Country native hailing from neighboring Warren County. She received her Bachelor of Arts from SUNY Potsdam, Magna Cum Laude with a double major in Theatre and English concentrating on dramaturgy and creative writing and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. She has extensive teaching and directing experience including the Saratoga Arts summer Youth theater program and guest lecturer on dramaturgy at SUNY Potsdam.

Erin has many years of experience in managing arts organizations, namely at The Depot Theatre in Westport, New York and most recently with Home Made Theater in Saratoga as Business Manager. In addition to her administrative and leadership roles, she is also an accomplished theater artist who led the creation of the Sensory Friendly Performance Program providing accommodations for patrons of all ages with sensory sensitivities. She directed “The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time,” which was named a top 10 non-equity production for the Capital Region by the Saratogian in 2022. She also received critical acclaim for the recent production of “The Humans.”

Erin explains, “As a passionate advocate for the transformative power of the arts, I am incredibly honored to join Hubbard Hall as its new Executive Director. I look forward to collaborating with this vibrant community to continue creating and celebrating exceptional art that inspires and brings us together.”

Darcy May (Choreographer)

Darcy May is a graduate of the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. In addition to teaching Irish dance for 20 years at Hubbard Hall, she has done choreography for several productions, including: Anything Goes and Crazy for You at Greenwich Central School, The Sound of Music CCS Drama Club, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and The Glass Menagerie at Hubbard Hall.

 

 

Maureen “Moe” Cossey (Stage Manager and Technical Director) is a local theater professional, musician and actor. She attended the Crane School of Music and SUNY Albany, majoring in Vocal Performance. For the past seven years, she has been the resident Stage Manager and more recently Event Production Coordinator at Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education in Cambridge, NY. Local onstage theater credits include Little Shop of Horrors (voice of Audrey II, Fort Salem Theater), Bright Star (Mama Murphy, FST), Pirates of Penzance (Edith, FST) and Mary Poppins (Ms. Andrew, FST). Other recent stage roles include Mother Abbess (cover) in The Sound of Music (HMT) and Sister Margaretta in The Sound of Music (MACC). When not on stage, Moe serves as lighting/sound designer/stage manager for various local theaters. Some recent favorites include Fiddler on the Roof (MACC, Stage Manager) and Ragtime (Sand Lake Center for the Arts, Lighting Designer). All the best to all those who support live and local theater!