Ithaca College

On Thursday, November 10th, at 6 p.m. in the Handwerker Gallery, the On the Verge play-reading troupe wil present a staged reading of Philadelphia, Here I Come!, written in 1964 by the Irish playwright Brian Friel. The reading was directed by Claire Gleitman, professor of English, and the cast will feature faculty members from both English and Theatre (Kevin Murphy, Hugh Egan, Chris Holmes; Greg Bostwick, Kathleen Mulligan, Judy Levitt), as well as students from the department of Theatre. The running time is roughly two hours.

Philadelphia, Here I Come! is set in the fictional town of Ballybeg, in northwest Ireland, and it takes place on the eve of 25-year old Gareth O’Donnell’s departure to America, where he hopes to find wealth, beautiful women, a loving mother-surrogate—everything, in short, that is missing from his life in Ireland. The small town from which Gar hails is economically and spiritually stifling; his father pays him meager wages for his work in the family shop, and Gar feels little connection with the people who surround him. Yet Gar is also plagued with doubts about emigration, and those doubts are voiced by his constant companion--which is also Gar. Indeed, one of the most interesting features of this moving, funny and finally heartbreaking play is that the main role is portrayed by two actors: one who plays Public Gar—the Gar that others see—and one who plays Private Gar: his conscience, the unseen man, Gar’s nagging, tormenting, hectoring inner self.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Claire Gleitman at gleitman@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-3893. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.