THE IRISH CURSE

May 2 - 25, 2025

WRITTEN by Martin Casella
DIRECTED by by Epic Jones

What "The Irish Curse" is – and how it manifests itself – is the raw centerpiece of this wicked, rollicking, and very funny play.

In The Irish Curse, size matters to this group of New Yorkers who attend a weekly support group for men with small penises.

Held in the basement of St. Sebastian’s Catholic Church in Brooklyn, this Irish “shortcoming” is the focus of their weekly sessions as they commiserate about their ruined lives.

But, when a twenty-something blue-collar guy shows up, he challenges them to think about their obsession with body image and unmasks the comical and truthful questions of identity, masculinity, sex and relationships that men face every day.

TICKETS

Free Public Access Tickets are available for reservation starting 1 week prior to show time.

Early Access Tickets are available ahead of time with a WSSR Membership.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

MARTIN CASELLA

Martin Casella's plays include The Irish Curse (New York Off-Broadway, London, Los Angeles, Edinburgh, Dublin, L.A., Outstanding Playwriting Award, FringeNYC; published by Samuel French), Scituate (Best New Play, SCFTA), Mates (L.A. WEEKLY Award, Best New Play), Paydirt, Desert Fire, Beautiful Dreamer, Grand Junction, The Big Enchilada, and George Bush Goes to Hell. He wrote the book for the musicals Paper Moon, Happy Holidays, Taking Care of Mrs. Carroll, Saint Heaven and Doo-Dah!, and co-wrote the book for the jazz musical Play It Cool (Off-Broadway; GLAAD nomination, OCC nomination for Best Off-Broadway musical).

His plays have been seen at, among others, the Pasadena Playhouse, Coast Playhouse, the Cast, the Coronet (Los Angeles); Theatre Row, Soho Playhouse, TBG, Linhart and Access Theatres (New York); Village Theatre, Group Theatre (Seattle); Bailiwick, Theatre Building (Chicago); Stage One (Wichita); Paper Mill Playhouse (New Jersey); Goodspeed Opera House, Stanford Center for the Arts (Connecticut); Walnut Street Theatre (Philadelphia); Ford’s Theatre (Washington); in Tokyo; and at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada.

He has just finished a new play, Directions for Restoring the Apparently Dead, and is currently writing Miss Maude, about midwife Maude Callen and Life Magazine photographer Eugene Smith, and The Report, a stage adaptation of Jessica Francis Kane’s novel about the official investigation into London’s worst civilian accident during World War II. TV projects include the film Behind the Lens for CBS, and Daddy's Girl, a pilot for HBO. He also spent some time as a staff writer on ABC's One Life to Live. His screenplay One Night Stand was directed by Talia Shire. Casella recently adapated David Johnson's play Busted Jesus Comix into a screenplay for director Leon Joosen, and wrote the feature film Tom's Dad, to be directed by three-Oscar nominee Lasse Hallstrom.

Casella is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, the Writer's Guild of America, Actors' Equity Association, and the Screen Actors Guild.

PUBLIC ACCESS THEATER

WE BELIEVE EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THEATER…

Here’s how it works:

1. We make all of our tickets FREE

2. You help us do it by DONATING

This simple, yet powerful approach makes sure everyone can attend!

DONATE

Although tickets are free, it still costs $10,000 - $20,000 to put on one our shows.

Part of our budget goes to the actors, some of whom work for over 120 hours.

If you Become a Member or Add A Donation to your free tickets, you will support Public Access Theater and help us make sure everyone in our community can come to the show!

BECOME A MEMBER

When you become a WSSR Member, you are partnering with us to support Public Access Theater and make sure everyone can come to the show!

With a WSSR Membership, you can reserve more than 2 tickets at a time!

Plus, you get things like early access to tickets, guaranteed seats, WSSR merch, invites to special events, and more!

CONTENT INFO

THE IRISH CURSE is a hilarious comedy where men talk frankly about their anatomy and body images. It contains profanity and adult humor.

For specific information about the content, please contact us.

COVID SAFETY

MASKS ARE ENCOURAGED BUT NOT REQUIRED

If you aren’t feeling well or are experiencing symptoms, please stay home.

Any questions? contact@wssr.org