Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...Most oldsters like myself still will probably find revisiting the piece enjoyable. Girolmo knows exactly what the show needs, and there is a musically adroit and highly personable cast in the not-entirely-Irish persons of Emily Goldberg, the singer-musician Michael Mahler, the fine tenor Luke Nowakowski and Leah Morrow. (It's great to hear Morrow get a legit number, for she's invariably cast in character roles around town.) David Fiorello, sporting a Notre Dame cap, musically directs from the keys and Elleon Dobias adds the Irish strings of various kinds. It's as warm as a toddy on a frigid January night and as well harmonized as McDonnells curry sauce. (No Guinness in the lobby, alas; Porchlight would have made bank.)"
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...This ensemble-led revue, starring the quartet of Leah Morrow, Emily Goldberg, Michael Mahler, and Luke Nowakowski, made me long to return to the land that stole my heart. They run through the last few centuries of Irish life, both at home and abroad, giving audiences a deeper understanding of the Irish heritage, while Elleon Dobias on violin and David Fiorello on piano (and conducting) carry us away on shimmering Irish melodies."
Stage and Cinema
- Recommended
"...Having never seen the musical before I was a bit taken aback by the rough-hewn nature of the production until I realized that that was the point, and part of its charm. The cast comprises two men and two women, simply listed as #1 and #2 who prance and dance all over the place. In between the songs they stop to relate the story of the Irish journey to the New World, beginning in Ireland, proceeding through the Irish Potato Famine, and the passage to America. Once here, we hear about their early experience with low wage jobs, discrimination, and their outsized role in union building, political corruption, and the failure of the temperance movement."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...There’s at least another month before Chicago loses its mind and sobriety, dyes the river green and everyone becomes honorarily Irish, but the Frank McCourt gem The Irish… And how they got that way now on onstage at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts will make everyone in the audience appreciate Irish American history and culture and hope they can trace their roots back to the Emerald Isle just like Barack Obama."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...I will tell you that the two hour production ( with one intermission) now on their stage is one that is very special and under the skillful eye of Director David Girolmo, is a fun history lesson about the Irish people and why they came to America, and what they have made of themselves."
The Fourth Walsh
- Recommended
"...THE IRISH…AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY is the complete opposite of McCourt’s life defining work, “Angela’s Ashes.” In THE IRISH, McCourt pays homage to his heritage by crafting a bubbly variety show. He highlights the 20th and 21st century history of the Irish experience through music, storytelling and musical storytelling. The format is a loose narrative of jokes and bits weaving together a score of Irish-inspired songs. The show has a diverse range of tunes, like the sentimental “Danny Boy,” upbeat “Yankee Doodle,” and the contemporary “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”"
Chicago On Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...If you’re looking for an Irish history instructor, you can do no better than Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Angela’s Ashes. McCourt is also the author of The Irish…And How They Got That Way, but this is much more than a history lesson. It’s a thoroughly engrossing whirlwind pastiche of history, dance, and Irish music from the folk songs of past centuries to U2."
PicksInSix
- Highly Recommended
"...There is a bit of the blarney in all of us, whether we celebrate Irish traditions once a year or every day. The Porchlight Music Theatre production of Frank McCourt’s rousing play “The Irish... and How They Got That Way” that opened Friday at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts toasts that indominable spirit in story and song, spanning the bitter dispute between Irish settlers and England, the devastating potato famine and mass emigration of the mid-19th century to the remarkably broad influence of Irish culture in every facet of our American way of life from labor and politics to music, literature and fine arts."
Allie and the After Party
- Recommended
"...Covering a brief history of Ireland and its people, Porchlight takes us on a journey of moments that show us how the Irish-American experience has been shaped. The show covers history and influential people with connections to Ireland set to traditional Irish folk songs, ballads, and more."
