Irish-American Broadway actress Kelli O’Hara (above) finally took home a Tony award for her performance of Anna in the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I in June after six previous nominations. “Broadway’s Irish Colleen” beat out fellow rivals Kristin Chenoweth (who hosted the event), legend Chita Rivera, and Beth Malone. ♦ … [Read more...] about Kelli O’Hara Wins Tony (Finally)
Music
The Willis Family
The Willis Clan have carved out quite the reputation for their musical skills and now have a new reality TV show on TLC. There is a moment during a Willis Clan performance when the stage lights seem to go away and you’re swept into that ancient time and place where Irish music and dance were born as rituals that could bind a community together, banish fear and lift sorrow by … [Read more...] about The Willis Family
Foot Tapping…
Modern Trad in New York
There is always a welcoming buzz of familiarity at the Irish Arts Center. On a night in late April, This Is How We Fly made their New York City debut. The quartet of fiddle, clarinet, drums, and percussive dance had drawn in a full house for opening night: few sharply-dressed Wall Street types, an award-winning violinist (who looked borderline indecent without his haughty … [Read more...] about Foot Tapping…
Modern Trad in New York
The Willis Family
The Willis Clan have carved out quite the reputation for their musical skills and now have a new reality TV show on TLC. There is a moment during a Willis Clan performance when the stage lights seem to go away and you’re swept into that ancient time and place where Irish music and dance were born as rituals that could bind a community together, banish fear and lift sorrow by … [Read more...] about The Willis Family
Cherishing Joanie
As the Cherish the Ladies 30th Anniversary Tour begins, Kristin Cotter McGowan talks to founding member, the award-winning whistle and flute player Joanie Madden. Irish music was the soundtrack to life for Joanie Madden and other Irish American kids growing up in Woodlawn, a heavily Irish section of the Bronx, NY, back in the 1970s. “I was lucky – even if you didn’t want to … [Read more...] about Cherishing Joanie