Dublin-born Thomas Moore (1779-1852) is still recognized as Ireland’s National Bard; he was once as famous a romantic poet as his best friend Lord Byron. While studying law in London in 1801 he published, anonymously, a book of naughty verses, The Poetical Works of the Late Thomas Little. The author was “the most licentious ofRead more..
Plans to stage a 1997 play based on Oscar Wilde: “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde” were halted after the Russian government barred the company from accepting any foreign funds for “artistic purposes” according to The New York Times. The much lauded New Drama theater in Moscow was attempting to put on Moises Kaufman’s playRead more..
Oscar Wilde, the playwright, novelist, poet, and critic of world renown, has long been labeled Anglo-Irish, but an examination of his roots puts the question of Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde’s Irishness to rest once and for all. All Irishmen must feel a little defensive when someone points out that some of our famous writersRead more..
A new opera dealing with the trials and imprisonment of the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde made its East Coast debut this past February. It was put on at the charmingly lavish Opera Philadelphia by composer and co-librettist Theodore Morrison and English opera director John Cox, a year following its debut in Sante Fe, New Mexico inRead more..
You hoist one of Colorado’s fine craft beers at the long, dark bar of the Silver Dollar Saloon in Leadville, and consider this possibility: had history played out a little differently, Oscar Wilde and Doc Holliday might have exchanged bon mots right at this spot. Both caroused here, Wilde in 1882, Holliday a year later. TheyRead more..
The message of the biggest show on Broadway is subtly inspired by Oscar Wilde. Kinky Boots, playing at the Al Hirschfeld Theater, has taken New York by storm. Winner of the 2013 Tony award for Best New Musical, it also won best new musical at the Drama League Awards and the Outer Circle Critic Awards.Read more..
The American actor was in Ireland to pick up an award for his documentary on Oscar Wilde’s Salomé. Al Pacino was back in Ireland in February for a very fond return visit and to be presented with a Volta Lifetime Achievement award by President Michael D. Higgins. Guest of honor at the 10th Jameson DublinRead more..
An exhibition at the Morgan Library attracts Oscar Wilde enthusiasts. Expensively dressed, impeccably mannered and gifted with a voice so beguiling his contemporaries marveled at him, Oscar (Fingal O’Flaherty Wills) Wilde was also one of the wittiest men of his age. Even today, just to hear his name is to anticipate delight. That’s why hisRead more..
The Irish are travel birds. There’s probably not a spot on the globe where they haven’t touched down and built a nest or two. And finding corners of Ireland even in the most obscure places is always a fun travel thing to do. On a trip to London late last year, I stayed at theRead more..
Appearing before an Irish-American group in St. Paul, Minnesota on St. Patrick’s Day, 1882, Oscar Wilde was introduced not as a rising literary star, but as “the son of one of Ireland’s noblest daughters — of a daughter who in the troublous times of 1848 by the works of her pen and her noble exampleRead more..