Parcel from America, a holiday musical about Irish emigration, begins previews at Theatre Row on October 28 ahead of a November 4 opening. The New York premiere has a limited run through November 22.
The show grew out of a story by the Irish storyteller Tomáseen Foley, drawn from his own boyhood in rural west Limerick in the 1950s. Back then nearly every family had someone in America, and the parcel that came home at Christmas, packed with secondhand clothes and often an envelope of dollars, could bring in more money than the rest of the year combined. The musical follows one such parcel, addressed to a young boy and a lonely widow, and the change it sets off across their parish.
Jahnna Beecham, Malcolm Hillgartner and Michael J. Hume wrote the book and lyrics. Hillgartner wrote the music with Kevin Corcoran, who is also music director and arranger. J.R. Sullivan directs, and Barry McNabb choreographs. The piece was staged at Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin in 2022.
The company is drawn from both sides of the Atlantic. Alex Sharpe, who played in the Dublin staging, returns, alongside Clare O’Malley, Michael Grennell, Mick Mellamphy, Úna Clancy, Gregg Goodbrod, Andrea Lynn Green, Adam Huel Potter, Aidan McCracken, Daniel Patrick Sullivan, Serena Parish and Ethan Jack Haberfield.
The production plays Theatre Three at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, and is among the titles in our guide to shows closing soon. Tickets for Parcel from America are on sale now.
