The Irish Repertory Theatre has announced a three-week extension of George Bernard Shaw's Don Juan in Hell. The third act dream sequence from Shaw’s Man and Superman will now run through Oct. 8. The show started previews Aug. 15 and was originally scheduled to run through Sept. 17.
Production sources cited "strong ticket sales and favorable notices" as the reason for the extension.
Don Juan stars Donal Donnelly, Celeste Holm, James A. Stephens and Fritz Weaver. The dramatic reading is directed by Irish Rep's Charlotte Moore.
As mentioned, Don Juan was originally the third act dream sequence of Man and Superman, but has been broken out as its own piece, separate of the 1903 comedy of the sexes. In Don Juan, the banished souls have nothing but time on their hands, so Don Juan converses with the Devil on a wide range of subjects with interjections from a woman he once seduced and a man he killed. Weaver is Don Juan, with Donnelly as the Devil and Holm as Dona Ana. James A. Stephens (The Country Boy) plays the Statue.
Holm won her Oscar for "Gentleman's Agreement" while garnering nominations for "All About Eve" and "Come to the Stable." A member of the Theatre Hall of Fame, she created Ado Annie in Oklahoma! and performed in I Hate Hamlet, Love Letters, The Time of Your Life and Shaw's Back to Methuselah. She is also known for playing reporter Liz Embrey opposite Frank Sinatra in Cole Porter's "High Society." Weaver took home the Tony for Child Play. Other credits include Ring Around the Moon, The Crucible, Love Letters, The Price, Absurd Person Singular and My Fair Lady.
Oft appearing in Irish drama and comedy, Donnelly played Shaw himself last summer at Irish Rep in Dear Liar and on tour in the one man show, My Astonishing Self. After beginning his career at Dublin's Gate and moving on to London, Donnelly has done Broadway's Translations, Sherlock's Last Case, Ghetto and Dancing at Lughnasa.
Tickets are $35-$30. Irish Repertory Theatre is located at 132 W. 22 Street. For reservations, call (212) 727-2737 or visit www.irishrepertorytheatre.com.
-- By Murdoch McBride
