Before there was "Angela's Ashes," Frank McCourt's autobiographical masterpiece, there was A Couple of Blaguards, a play penned by McCourt and his brother, Malachy. Both works dealt with the brothers' childhood, a poignant but whimsical look back at their "Candide"-like ordeal of poverty and neglect in the streets of Limerick, Ireland.

With both brothers now sporting NY Times best sellers, they've also reworked their show, and Blaguards starts previews Nov. 27 at Off-Broadway's Triad Theatre.

Production spokesperson Miller Wright told Playbill On-Line (Nov. 3) that the producers wanted to bring A Couple of Blaguards specifically to the Triad, because it can be turned into "a very Irish kind of place, with Irish cooking, Irish music and that kind of atmosphere."

(Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know, the Triad's current tenant, closes there Nov. 8 moves to midtown's Ibis Theatre Nov. 16.)

Opening at the Triad Dec. 14, A Couple of Blaguards stars Shay Duffin and Mickey Kelly. Howard Platt directs the piece, which is produced by Peter Martin, Steve McGraw and Nancy McCall. Frank McCourt also contributed the script to the Irish Repertory Theatre's popular show, The Irish...And How They Got That Way. His aforementioned memoir, "Angela's Ashes," won Pulitzer and National Book Award prizes. Born in Brooklyn, McCourt spent his childhood in Limerick, which he termed, "a real city in an imaginary country."

-- By David Lefkowitz