Step into 1960s Dublin, where an amateur theater group and its passionate leader attempt to bring Oscar Wilde’s Salome to life against all odds. A Noise Within presents A Man of No Importance, an evocative, intimate musical gem from the Tony Award-winning team behind Ragtime: composer Stephen Flaherty, lyricist Lynn Ahrens, and bookwriter Terrence McNally. With ANW co-artistic director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott at the helm alongside music director Rod Bagheri, A Man of No Importance opens May 10 for a four-week run through June 1. Previews begin May 4.
Kasey Mahaffy stars as bus conductor Alfie Byrne. Alfie has two joys in life: the poetry of Oscar Wilde and staging amateur productions with his local theater troupe, the St. Imelda Players. But when he opts to stage a production of Salome, this man of seemingly no importance must confront religious objections while facing the forces of bigotry and shame over a love “that dare not speak its name.” Inspired by a 1994 film starring Albert Finney, A Man of No Importance beautifully combines the depth of drama with the lyricism and comedy of musical theater.
“It’s a story about our collective humanity, and recognizing that in each other,” says Rodriguez-Elliott. “About the need for love and acceptance, about ‘otherness,’ and, at the same time, a celebration of theater and community. A group of ordinary, working class people comes together to create theater, and that is when they’re most alive.”
Joining Mahaffy on the A Noise Within stage are Juliana Sloan as Lily, Alfie’s sister; Neill Fleming as Father Kenny; and CJ Eldred as Robbie, bus driver to Alfie’s conductor. Bryce Brock, LeShay Tomlinson Boyce, Emily Kosloski, Howard Leder, Amber Liekhus, Ed F. Martin and David Nevell star as members of the St. Imelda’s Players, with Analisa Idalia as newcomer Adele. Jack Zubieta plays the unsavory Breton Beret.
A live, five-piece orchestra featuring violin and reeds lends a bit of blas áitiúil (Irish flavor).
The rest of the creative team includes scenic designer François-Pierre Couture; lighting designer Ken Booth; sound designer Jeff Gardner; costume designer Angela Balogh Calin; wig and make up designer Tony Valdés; properties designer Stephen Taylor; fight choreographer Kenneth R. Merckx, Jr.; dialect coach Andrea Odinov; intimacy director Sasha Smith; and dramaturg Miranda Johnson-Haddad. The production stage manager is Angela Sonner, assisted by Hope Matthews.
A Noise Within has been called “an oasis for those who love classic stories” by the Los Angeles Times and is a leading regional producer based in Pasadena, California. Under the leadership of Elliott and Rodriguez-Elliott, the award-winning resident theater company is honored to represent the entire community at its state-of-the-art, 324-seat performance space. In addition to producing world-class performances of classic theater, the organization runs robust education programs with the goal of inspiring diverse audiences of all ages. ANW is committed to anti-racist policies and practices across the entirety of the organization. By interpreting its mission to fully engage audiences through community and artist-centered work in multiple creative disciplines, ANW is striving to be a theater that better serves the entire community.
Performances of A Man of No Importance take place May 10 through June 1 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. (no matinee on Saturday, May 10). Four preview performances take place on Sunday, May 4 at 2 p.m., and on Wednesday, May 7; Thursday, May 8; and Friday, May 9, each at 7:30 p.m.
A one-hour INsiders Discussion Group will take place prior to the matinee on Sunday, May 11, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Post-performance conversations with the artists will take place every Friday (except the preview) and on Sunday, May 18. The 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, May 24 will provide access to patrons who are blind or with low vision via audio description, including pre-show notes describing the visual appearance of the characters, sets and costumes and a live narrative description of the show in real time (earpieces are provided). The 2 p.m. matinee performances on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1 will offer closed captioning for patrons who are Deaf or have hearing loss via the GalaPro theater accessibility app (available on iOS and Android devices). Student matinees are scheduled on select weekdays at 10:30 a.m.; interested educators should email education@anoisewithin.org.
Tickets to A Man of No Importance start at $51.50 (including fees). Student tickets start at $20. Tickets to the preview performances on Wednesday, May 7 and Thursday, May 8 will be Pay What You Choose starting at $10 (available online beginning at noon the Monday prior, and at the box office beginning at 2 p.m. on the day of the performance) Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.
A Noise Within is located at 3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (626) 356-3100 or go to www.anoisewithin.org.
