In association with
Steve McGraw and Howard Platt

written by Frank McCourt and Malachy McCourt

Act One - Limerick
Act Two - New York

There will be a 15 minute intermission

A WORD FROM THE AUTHORS
Frank McCourt…
Malachy stood behind the bar and told his customers stories. I stood before the blackboard and told my students stories. At holiday gatherings we told our families stories. They said, "Why not get together, cobble these stories into a script and tell the world.

Malachy McCourt…
This show is the result of Frank and myself listening to the stories of our elders which in turn tunes the ear, the eye and the tongue to observe and give voice to even the most trivial of events. I think we had more fun than anyone writing and performing "Blaguards" which has become an affectionate term for the rowdy outgoing and sometimes drinking sort boys. If you don't have a good evening, you should have yourself checked to make sure you haven't died during the day. Blessings!

Producer
Steve McGraw has presented some of Off-Broadway's longest running hits at his cabaret theatre in Manhattan. Among them are Forbidden Broadway, Forever Plaid and A Couple of Blaguards.
His teleplay "Miles from Nowhere", an autobiographical family drama, was produced by New World International, and starred Rick Schroder and James Farentino. It first aired on CBS, and won a Christopher Award for writing. The story was also published by William Morrow as a novel called "Totaled." His screenplay, "Pendragon", won in the action/adventure category at The Breckenridge Film Festival. His most recent script, "Jimmy Nolan" is in pre-production. It will be directed by Jeff McCracken, produced by Matt Salinger.
Steve is a graduate of Notre Dame University.

Malachy McCourt as Malachy McCourt see author bio.

Howard Platt has played both roles.

Howard Platt (Malachy McCourt or Frank McCourt, Director) is a show business veteran of more than 35 years. As an actor he has appeared in at least 100 plays assuming the roles of everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Santa Claus to Frank McCourt. He has made numerous comedic and dramatic appearances on television, most recently as Rev. Weber on What About Joan, and is best known for his roles as Hoppy the Cop on Sandford and Son, Dr. Phil Newman on The Bob Newhart Show, Marvin on Alice and Judge Jonathan Stockfish on Evening Shade. As a series regular he played Captain Doug March on Flying High (with Connie Sellecca, Pat Klous and Katherine Witt), Roger Martinson, Esq. on Empire and Raymond Peterson on Me, On The Radio? with Sally Struthers. His many movie roles include The Rock and Norma Jean & Marilyn. Mr. Platt has directed a dozen shows including A Couple Of Blaguards, Don't Dress For Dinner, Pump Boys And Dinettes, Love Letters and Steel Magnolias. Among 20 shows Platt was involved in producing in Chicago with Cullen, Henaghan and Platt, his association with Robert Whitehead during the first Broadway Alliance production, Steve Tesich's Speed Of Darkness, was a theatrical high point, exceeded only by his long friendship with Frank McCourt and brother Malachy.

Mickey Kelly(Frank McCourt) Mickey arrived in New York 30 years ago on the first leg of a trip around the globe but never left after becoming involved with the Irish Arts Centre where he worked extensively as an actor and workshop director. More recently he has worked with Mayfair Productions in "Closing Time" under the direction Of MacDara MacUaimhaile and worked on their production of "Peacefire." Prior to that he was Artistic Director of the Macalla Theatre Company in the Bronx appearing in Martin Lynch's "Rinty" as Rinty Monaghan. He also directed and appeared in DanielMcGee's "Paddywack."At the Irish Rep Theatre he was Sinead Cusack's "Dada" in "Our Lady of Sligo." On stage at the Irish Arts Centre he appeared in Brian Friel's "Lovers" as Andy and in Kenneth Brannagh's "Public Enemy" as Geordie both directed by Nye Heron and in the Jim Sheridan directed productions of "The Interrogation of Ambrose Fogarty", "The Hostage", "Richard's Cork Leg" and "The Shadow of a Gunman." As one of the thespian McCourt brothers he has blaguarded his way in the role of "Frank" at the Triad Theater in New York, the Ford's Theater in DC and the Andrew's Lane Theatre in Dublin with Malachy as himself. He has performed as a storyteller and singer at Irish Festivals from the Catskill mountains to the Condado in San Juan. Television credits include "One Life to Live" and as Duncan the underutilised bartender in "Ed."

When Jarlath Conroy plays Frank McCourt

Jarlath Conroy (Frank McCourt) was in A Couple of Blaguards at the Triad Theater in New York City. His Broadway credits include: The Weir, The Iceman Cometh, On The Waterfront, Ghetto, The Visit, Philadelphia Here I Come!, Comedians. Off-Broadway: A Man of No Importance at Lincoln Center, Our Lady of Sligo, A Life, Pigtown at The Irish Repertory Theater, also Gardenia, Translations at Manhattan Theater Club, and The Matchmaker, Playboy of the Western World at The Roundabout Theater. Regional roles include: Drumm in Hugh Leonard’s Da at the Guthrie Theater, Thomas Dunne in Sebastian Barry’s The Steward of Christendom (Barrymore Award), Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Uncle Sid in Ah,Wilderness!, Fluther in The Plough and the Stars, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol , Frank in Faith Healer, Fluellen in Henry V (Helen Hayes Award nomination), Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind, Joxer in Juno and the Paycock (Helen Hayes Award). He was in Cromwell and Hamlet at the Royal Court in London . TV and film: "Law and Order", "NYPD Blue", "Law and Order:Criminal Intent", "The Beat", "Summer", "A Marriage: O’Keeffe and Stieglitz", "The Elephant Man". "Heaven’s Gate", George Romero’s "Day of the Dead" and the yet to be released "Kinsey", "Stay" and "The Baxter". His directing credits include True West and Human Resources.

About the Authors

FRANK McCOURT taught high school and college English for three decades in New York and occasionally, Dublin. Frank's memoir, "Angela's Ashes", published in September of 1996 by Scribner, was honored with The Pulitzer Prize for literature, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Boston Book Review's Non-Fiction prize, the Abbey Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. His second book,"'Tis", another bestseller, was released in the fall of 1999. A major motion picture based on "Angela's Ashes" starring Emily Watson and Robert Carlisle premiered late the same year. As a speaker, Frank is always in demand, having spoken at countless special events, colleges and universities worldwide. He has been keynote speaker at the White House on several occasions, and his dedication to education and the teaching profession have even prompted invitations from Congressional committees focusing on education in America.

Malachy McCourt was born in Brooklyn, USA and from the age of three was raised in Limerick, Ireland. A very undistinguished academic career plus the need to eat led him to leave school at the age of thirteen to begin work in Ireland and England as a laborer.
He returned to the land of his birth at the age of twenty and again worked at the manual tasks such as longshoreman, truck loader, dishwasher, until he became an actor. That career took him to Broadway and Off-Broadway and regional theatres in plays such as Mass Appeal, DA, The Hostage, Inherit the Wind, Carousel and Translations. The soap operas such a "Ryan's Hope", "Search for Tomorrow", "One Life to Live" were also a good source of work and sustenance as were the movies "Molly Maguires", "She's the One", "The Devils Own", "Green Card", and TV movies such a "You Can't Go Home Again" and the "Dain Curse". Due to a heavy schedule of writing, book signings and public appearances, McCourt had to take a sabbatical from the acting trade but is now back after completing five movies "Happy Hour", "Guru of Sex", "Gods and Generals", "The Last Run" and "Ash Wednesday" plus a running part in the HBO prison series "Oz".
In the early seventies he was one of the first radio talk show hosts on WMCA, NYC, a lively and controversial time of his life and he was a frequent guest on the "Tonight Show", "Merv Griffin" and "Tom Snyder" shows. Along with the above, Malachy McCourt has been credited with founding the first singles bar in America, Malachy's of Third Avenue.
As well as being the co-author of the play A Couple of Blaguards with his brother Frank, Malachy has written his own New York Times bestseller memoir, "A Monk Swimming", published by Hyperion Press. His most recent memoir, "Singing My Him Song", now out in paperback is published by Harper Collins. Malachy's new books are: "Danny Boy, a history of the song Danny Boy"; "Voices of Ireland", an anthology of Irish literature; "History of the Claddheh Ring"; and a book of affirmations, "Harold B Thy Name". Malachy writes a column, "Sez I to Myself", that appears weekly in the Manhattan Spirit, The Westsider and Our Town in NYC.
Malachy McCourt is happily married to Diana for three and one half decades, has five grown children and is grandfather to three. He owes a great deal to his friend Bill W.