2010-2011 Season

St. Nicholas
By Conor McPherson

October 15 to November 28, 2010
W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

When a jaded and cynical Dublin Drama critic comes under the spell of a beautiful young actress and pursues her into a coven of vampires in modern day London, storytelling at its spooky best comes to vivid life. Is it all a drunken lie? A tantalizing fairy tale? Or is it his own version of a higher truth?

Performance Schedule:

Wednesday – Saturday at 8pm
Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday at 3pm

Approx. Running Time: 90 min, with one intermission

"Times being what they are, it's comforting to know there are other jobs out there for theater critics. If one is to believe the fantastical events in Conor McPherson's "St. Nicholas," one can always pimp for a coven of vampires. First seen here in a 1998 production starring Brian Cox, this early one-person play by the author of "The Weir" and "The Seafarer" is A WONDERFULLY SPOOKY TALE, ARRIVING JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN. Under the unobtrusive direction of Alex Dmitriev, John Martello plays the unnamed, self-loathing Dublin critic who regales us with the tale, beginning with a description of his bottomless pit of self-loathing. Though it deals with such themes as the quest for personal redemption and the nature of storytelling itself, THE PUNGENTLY WRITTEN PLAY IS FAR MORE ENTERTAINING THAN HEAVY-HANDED. The rotund Martello projects a well-fed decadence in the role, bringing animated life to the story. HE MASTERFULLY DRAWS IN THE AUDIENCE, even as his character ironically notes, "There's always going to be a smugness about you listening to this.' " - New York Post

"I'M GONNA CUT TO THE CHASE: I ENJOYED THE HELL OUT OF IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE'S PRODUCTION OF CONOR MCPHERSON'S ONE-MAN PLAY, ST. NICHOLAS, AND I RECOMMEND YOU CHECK IT OUT. It's an intriguing story, well told (though, not unimpeachably so, as I'll get to later), it offers a unique twist on the ever-popular vampire myth, and, for the actor, it's an absolutely killer script to, if you'll permit me the pun (and why wouldn't you?), sink his teeth into. Despite the mythical beasts at its core, this is a distinctly modern tale of midlife crisis, and McPherson paints a beautifully realized portrait of a man beginning to feel like the living dead. JOHN MARTELLO IS AN ABSOLUTE DELIGHT IN HIS PORTRAYAL OF THE THEATRE CRITIC IN QUESTION. IT'S HIS SHOW ALONE AND HE CARRIES IT SPLENDIDLY. HIS PERFORMANCE IS CHARMING AND LIGHT, WITHOUT BEING WEIGHTLESS, AND HIS NATURAL JOVIALITY WORKS WELL TO CONTRAST THE HEAVIER MOMENTS THE PLOT GIVES HIM. Also, and I mean this as high praise, he doesn't come across as some highly trained actor doing a one-man show—rather you can easily buy him as the man in the circumstances he purports to have gone through. ALEX DMITRIEV'S DIRECTION IS FLUID AND NATURAL—you get the sense that he's wisely letting his actor and the script play, and the overall arc is very well etched. - NYTheatre.com

"In "St. Nicholas," a cynical, amusingly Gothic story about bloodlust, vampires and theater critics, the mordant wit of Tony Award-nominated Irish dramatist Conor McPherson is on dark display. JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN, THE ODDLY COMPELLING SHOW IS A PERFECT GHOST STORY, a cautionary fable about the destructive results of using power to abuse other people instead of taking responsibility for our own failures. Alone on a small, dark stage, JOHN MARTELLO MASTERFULLY PORTRAYS A DISSOLUTE, JADED IRISH THEATER CRITIC WITH SELF-DEPRECATING CHARM AND ATTEMPTED REGRET, BOTH TINGED WITH IRREPRESSIBLE POMPOSITY. But McPherson, skilled writer and author of "The Seafarer," ''The Weir," and "Shining City," artfully builds the melodramatic story so it almost seems credible. Martello is completely engaging and a treat to watch, as his character pridefully recounts his booze-hound lifestyle and downfall, marveling at his gradual ensnarement by the vampires. Alex Dmitriev's direction enhances the wry, spellbinding tale, as the disgraced critic deludes himself with the conceit that his work for the vampires was part of "a life of patronage. A thoughtful, diverting, tragicomedy about human weakness." - Associated Press

"WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME SOMEONE TOLD YOU A REALLY GOOD STORY…NOT READ IT; ‘REGALED YOU WITH A TALE THAT DREW YOU IN, MADE YOU LAUGH, FURROW YOUR BROW, RAISE AN EYEBROW? REMEMBER VISUALIZING THE CHARACTERS, THE SURROUNDINGS? REMEMBER THE ANTICIPATION, THE TENSION, BEING CAPTIVATED; LOSING YOUR SENSE OF THE PRESENT? MULTIPLY THAT EXPERIENCE BY TENFOLD AND YOU MIGHT COME CLOSE TO THE SHEER TRANSPORTING PLEASURE OF THE EVENING JUST SPENT WITH JOHN MARTELLO. This is a tale acted in modern day idiom with a lovely deep, Irish lilt whose clarity is worthy of Shakespeare…by the man who escaped—or has he? Director Alex Dmitriev has midwifed an exceptional production. He’s resolutely economic with anything extraneous to our imagining and his character’s self possession. The critic sits, gestures, paces a bit and breaks the fourth wall once or twice. It seems completely natural. Every single minute works. John Mantello is an actor, producer and director. He commands the stage as someone who is—accustomed. Mantello conjures situations and induces empathy. Memories are viscerally experienced. His eyes in turn, blaze, twinkle or pass into stupor. His timing is consummate. St.Nicholas (will someone explain the title to me, please?) is performed with gusto. We left the theater exhilarated. Go!" - Playing Around