There’s no love like the love of an Irish mother

Local talent will shine and an Irish Mother’s love will be in the spotlight when True Repertory Theatre presents “Ellen’s Boys,” for three performances only, Nov. 14 - 15, at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton. Recently produced in New York, the production is directed by Donald Sheehan.
 

Written by Braintree playwright James Sullivan and set in a working-class three-decker in Dorchester during the turbulent 1960s, “Ellen’s Boys” follows a year in the life of the large Irish Catholic Flaherty clan, where family life is . . . complicated.
 

According to press notes, Ellen Flaherty is a widow who has raised six children on her own. The stubborn, pushy matriarch fights to maintain control over her family as she sees her boys' lives spinning past her control.
 

Her middle son, Gil, is a grown man still living at home. Ellen is pushing to marry him off while he simultaneously struggles to come to terms with both his own sexuality and his staunch Irish Catholic upbringing.  

John, a priest at the local parish, becomes enmeshed in brewing troubles that will soon shake the Catholic Church.
 

Meanwhile, Ellen’s youngest son, Michael, freshly enlisted in the army, falls for a wholly inappropriate “I-talian” girl.
 

Ultimately, the play explores the themes of acceptance, family loyalty, and the universal struggle between tradition and progress.  Throughout the poignant drama, secrets aren’t safe and boundaries aren’t respected.  Yet in the midst of turmoil, it’s the Flaherty’s love for one another and their resilient sense of humor that holds them all together.  

The cast of local actors includes Victoria Bond, from Plymouth; Donald Sheehan, from Pembroke; Paul Noonan, from Swansea; Jennifer Serowick, from Scituate; Julie Butler, from Pembroke; Eric McGowan, from Somerville; Patrick Dean, from New York City; and Nikki Ready, from Norwood.

Sullivan, who has been writing plays for thirty years, began creating “Ellen’s Boys,” a Broadway World nominee, a decade ago.  (The show debuted at True Rep in 2022.) The character of Ellen is based on his own grandmother. The stories and relationships are semi-autobiographical.

–BOB DONOVAN 

Performances at the Irish Cultural Centre (200 New Boston Drive in Canton) are scheduled for Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 15 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.  General admission tickets are $25 per person; $20 for ICC members, and $30 at the door. Tickets may be purchased in advance at truereptheatre.com.