Richard Thompson plays matchmaker “Micky Dick Micky O’Connor” with Lorraine Cline who plays a kleptomaniac in John B. Keane’s comedy “Letters of an Irish Matchmaker.”
PHOTOS BY Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
Two performances of famed Irish playwright John B. Keane’s adult-themed comedy “Letters of an Irish Matchmaker” will be presented next week at Murphy’s Irish Pub. In keeping with Murphy’s tradition of fundraising through theater, the shows will benefit the Butterfly Project, a local organization that raises money to help underprivileged East African girls realize their dreams of a college education. Murphy’s Irish Pub in Sonoma continues its tradition of fundraising through theater with the Tuesday, March 4 and Friday, March 7 performances of the both bawdy and poignant play.
In the play’s fictional western Ireland county, busy and beleaguered matchmaker Micky Dick Micky O’Connor corresponds with a collection of the lovelorn in his effort to find them suitable mates. A hapless 41-year-old virgin farmer, a bitter, but hopeful widow, a kooky kleptomaniac and a woman who must find a wife for her suicidal brother before she herself can marry are a few of “Letters” wild and wooly characters.
“Rich Thompson, who plays matchmaker Micky, helped turn this piece, which was to be a straight-forward reading of letters, into a fully textured play,” said “Letters” director Kate Kennedy. “The cast features many of Sonoma Valley’s most talented actors, who manage to bring to life the play’s goofy, but sweet characters.”
Other cast members include Lorraine Cline, Rich Holsworth, Jeane MacPherson, Rose Murphy, John O’Reilly, Philip Sales, Jean Sessions and Chris Wall.
Sonoma nurse Carole Peccorini started the Butterfly Project soon after her 2005 trip to Uganda where she helped distribute health-giving glyconutrients and vitamins to the country’s orphanages. Inspired by the girls whose dreams of higher education are often derailed by early marriages, the risks of HIV/AIDS and the violence associated with political unrest, Peccorini pledged to provide college educations for 10 girls.
“In Africa, a relatively small amount of money makes an enormous difference in helping build a future for girls and it’s an opportunity for us to feel that we can make a positive difference in a troubled part of the world,” said Peccorini. “Two thousand dollars a year provides a college education for bright and intelligent girls like Fabiloa, whose need for educational partnership motivated me to help her and others like her.”
During her first trip to Uganda, Peccorini had taken along 1200 foil butterflies as gifts for the orphaned children. The butterfly tokens served as the inspiration for what would become Peccorini’s successful fundraising effort. Sales of replicas of the East Africa’s Blue Morpho Butterfly, which cost $5 apiece, have helped the Butterfly Project raise more than $60,000. Girls from Kenya and Tanzania are also being assisted.
Advance tickets for performances of “Letters of an Irish Matchmaker” (7 p.m. Mar. 4 and 7) cost $20 and are available at Murphy’s Irish Pub, 464 First St. E. The price of tickets at the door will be $22. Call 707.996.4359 for more information.
An additional performance of the show is scheduled for Monday, Mar. 10 at the Sebastiani Theatre. This performance will benefit the Avalon Player’s summer production of William Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Gundlach Bundschu Winery. Tickets are $20 in advance and $22 at the door. They are currently available at the Sebastiani Theatre’s box office.
For more information about the Butterfly Project, go to www.thebutterflyproject.com.
