Irish pirate queen to set sail for assault on US

THE pair behind multi-million-euro show Riverdance are preparing to make their maiden voyage with a new big-budget musical production based on the life of 16th-century Irish pirate Grace O’Malley.

Final rehearsals of The Pirate Queen are underway in Dublin before Moya Doherty and John McColgan set off for the US where it will premiere in Chicago in October.

The producers said the first step towards creating the musical began four years ago when Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, the authors of Les Miserables and Miss Saigon, agreed to write the musical.

McColgan added: “The ship is about to sail for a foreign port and we are looking forward to the rest of the journey.”

The show tells of the life of Grace O’Malley, also known as Granuaile, who led a band of pirates from Galway and went on to become a chieftain. It will open in Chicago before moving to Broadway.

“We wanted an Irish story that had a resonance, we wanted something that could travel internationally, and I think that what has happened with this Grainne is that she has become sort of a female iconic role model really, and I think there is great interest in north America in the character of Granuaile because they don’t know anything about her and they are amazed that she actually existed,” she said.

On its potential for success on the American stage, Doherty said: “You can never tell with these things but the quality of the work is very good and we are very pleased with where we are at the moment, so they have great cast, great musicians, good story. You can never tell, it is such a high-risk business.”

The musical, which is being directed by Tony Award-winner Frank Galati, will feature a cast of 40.

Doherty, who hopes to bring the musical back to perform in Ireland, said a number of talented Irish musicians playing the uilleann pipe, harp and fiddle have been working for a long period of time with Boublil and Schonberg to develop the musical.

She said: “They found this world of Grace O’Malley, something that is rooted in history, they can engage with that and they have done.”

Stephanie J Block, who has featured in many Broadway musicals including Wicked and Oliver!, plays Granuaile, Hadley Fraser plays her love interest Tiernan, while Linda Balgord stars as Queen Elizabeth.