NEW YORK—When one enters the mainstage theater of New York’s Irish Repertory Theatre, one is pleasantly startled by the presence of numerous silvery-white Christmas trees adorning the stage.
Six simple hard-back chairs have been lined up downstage. Pianist David Hancock Turner is playing soft, possibly Christmas music. The six actors enter and take their seats. And the show proceeds.
Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’s story is based on his own life experience, as a young boy in Wales. But it can be extrapolated to apply to any young person living in a semirural setting.
Director-adaptor Charlotte Moore has made judicious changes and has added music to the mix, with several songs written by her. For instance, there’s her “Take My hand, Tomorrow’s Christmas.”…