Photos by Nile Scott Studios. This cast & crew photo would make an excellent holiday card.
A New England Premiere!
Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company
By Matthew Keenan
Directed by Weylin Symes
Dialect coaching by Lee Nishri-Howitt
Featuring Alex Deroo, Alex M. Jacobs, Chris Kandra, Julia Hertzberg, Alex Leondedis, Ross MacDonald, Paul Valley, Richard Snee, and Robert Walsh
With rotating walk-on appearances by Eleanor Colleran, Phoebe Jacobs, Gilda Fitzpatrick, and Anya Flores
Musicians: Lindsay Straw with rotating collaborators: fiddlers Cara Frankowicz and Clare Fraser, and accordionist Dan Accardi.
December 5-21, 2025
GBSC Main Stage
395 Main Street
Stoneham, MA 02180
Online playbill
Critique by Kitty Drexel
Advisory: Colorful language and discussions of death.
STONEHAM, Mass. — ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the pub/ Some regulars (Ross MacDonald and Paul Valley) were drinking despite the grievances of its Scroogey schlub (a stern Robert Walsh who gives the role of David hidden depths). The bar and toilets were stocked by tender Bartek (a stalwart Alex Deroo) with care/While rosy-cheeked Frank (Richard Snee) hoped that sobriety would ne’er be there. Simon (Alex Leondedis) and Anna (Julia Hertzberg) bundled up in their coats/Had sincere glad tidings stuck in their throats. While all dreamed of gifts from ole Saint Nick/David chased them off by being a dick. With the arrival of Michael (Alex M Jacobs), blood brother and friend/David looked up from his accounting book and brought the jolliness to an end.
“Now, Simon, Now Michael! Now, Frank and Jim! Now, Julia! Now, Bartek! Get away with that din!” The owner chased them out the bar/He chased them all out.
So David was left to suffer alone for eternity/We’ve no doubt.
(I can’t maintain this article in verse. I’m switching to prose. This article is already late. Sorry, Bryan.) But it wasn’t to be! David was to learn the true meaning of Christmas: patience, kindness, and love—the kind you’re meant to cherish the whole year through.
An Irish Carol is a more secular interpretation of the Christmas Carol tradition. There’s only one spirit, but its presence is felt by our characters and not seen. A host of characters rally around one ill-tempered friend by taking the piss (figuratively and literally) and sharing mischievous stories from their youth. This play isn’t the most mystical of interpretations, but it is heartwarming, nonetheless.
Our cast brings their best holiday banter with their best Irish accents, thanks to the dialect work by Lee Nishri-Howitt. Director Weylin Symes takes what could be a sit-and-spit script and expands it so neither the cast’s energy nor the audience’s gets stuck in one place. In turn, the cast uses their staging to good effect by granting their characters freedom of movement onstage. They walk about the pub with the latitude of regulars in their favorite bar, and the ease of old friends making new memories.
The scenic design by Saskia Martinez becomes an additional character in Matthew Keenan’s play. It recalls the Dublin pubs I visited on a vacation in early 2008, or any grotty Irish bar in Boston right now: warm, a little dirty but friendly. Its stocked bar with backlighting made the bottles glow invitingly. At times, the lighting design by Kevin Fulton looked like it was breathing: the twinkly lights around the pub’s one window pulsed, and the fireplace flickered like it gave off warmth. The sound design by Mackenzie Adamick kept pace with the other designers with ambient crackling and piped-in Irish music from a hidden sound system.
If the cast and the atmosphere aren’t enough to lure you, maybe the promise of live music might. Local musician Lindsay Straw and a rotating cast of accompanists play before each performance. Additionally, I suggest getting The Poinsettia (cranberry, a liqueur and prosecco) and a chocolate medallion at the bar. It provides a Christmasy atmosphere that evokes Dublin while also being uniquely Boston.
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