This oral history of the Irish-American
journey soars when it sings

A history lesson masquerading as a jukebox musical, The Irish … and How They Got That Way is the creation of Pulitzer winner Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes) who wrote the book, and wove in a selection of standards spanning centuries old folk music from Ireland to relatively newer folk, vaudeville, and more; even U2 makes an appearance. Really, the title should be The Irish Americans… and How They Got That Way, but that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.

Michael Mahler

In this production mounted by Porchlight, scenic designer Tianxuan Chen’s set at The Ruth Page Center features a large gangplank, with the sails of a docked ship behind it. The sails also provide a canvas for projection (Max Maxin IV), with the images also displayed on a jarringly modern television screen. There’s little else on display mostly because there’s little else needed. Music director David Fiorello handles musical duties at the onstage piano accompanied by Elleon Dobias on the violin and percussion.

Leah Morrow

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.

Emily Goldberg

Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way: the book is… a problem. For one, it’s not really a book so much as a lecture, complete with PowerPoint-ish slides—that television screen needs to go; it’s an eyesore and the images are far more emotionally effective when projected on the sails—and there’s not much that the actors can do but stand in front of the audience and recite.

Luke Nowakowski

Director David Girolmo does his best to shake things up, moving them around frenetically but more often than not they wind up in the same place; standing in a line in front of the audience. Things pick up with the book a bit in the second act where there’s a delightful wake and some sharp Broadway hoofing, but there’s also an unending recitation of notable Irish Americans that almost kills the entire show.

Luke Nowakowski, Michael Mahler, Emily Goldberg, Leah Morrow, David FiorelloElleon Dobias

See, everything that the book says—with a few exceptions—is better communicated by the songs that follow. And the four performers are fantastic, singing in accents when needed and shifting between pathos and bawdiness effortlessly. The songs and the vocals are so invigorating that the entire enterprise takes on the mien of a boozy, boisterous, bar sing-a-long to the point that I wanted a stein of beer to wave and join in (never a good thing for anyone who’s heard me sing).

Leah Morrow, Luke Nowakowski, Michael Mahler and Emily GoldbergLeah Morrow, Luke Nowakowski, Emily Goldberg and Michael Mahler

Michael Mahler functions as a ringleader of sorts (and does double duty with the guitar as well), and along with Emily Goldberg, Luke Nowakowski, and Leah Morrow, they throw everything into their performance. The fourth wall is willfully and gleefully broken, audience members are incorporated, ad libs take pot shots at the usual Chicago targets (poor Schaumburg) and the energy levels are kept dizzyingly high. A large sailor’s chest sits on stage, storing what seems like several plays’ worth of accoutrements; the cast retrieving and returning clothing and accessories to it adds to the enjoyable sensation that this is a show being put on for you by your friends at a gathering. Of the uniformly excellent cast, I was particularly fond of the husky-voiced Morrow, a spry comedienne whose unintelligible mumblings during the wake scene had the audience in stitches and whose vaudeville saucepot elicited an embarrassingly loud snort of laughter from me.

Luke Nowakowski and Emily GoldbergMichael Mahler

And boy, can they sing. There isn’t a single bum note delivered from among the four of them. It helps that most of the songs are so incredibly catchy but they nail the emotional vocals as well. Who needs a monologue about the loneliness of a stranger in a strange land, when the plaintive vocals of four immigrants joining in during “Danny Boy” make that point far more effectively.

Luke Nowakowski, Leah Morrow, Emily Goldberg and Michael Mahler

And ultimately that’s why the show works. It doesn’t matter if a spoken piece doesn’t click. Just wait for a minute and a gloriously performed song will do the job and erase any lingering discontent in the process.

Only a churl or an Englishman could fail to be entertained by this show.

I am neither.

Leah Morrow, Luke Nowakowski, Emily Goldberg and Michael Mahler

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photos by Anthony Robert La Penna

The Irish … and How They Got That Way
Porchlight Music Theatre
The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St.
two hours with intermission
Thurs & Fri at 7:30; Sat at 2 & 7:30; Sun at 2
ends on March 15, 2026
for tickets ($24 – $110), call 773.777.9884 or visit Porchlight

for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago

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