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Burnchurch School presented “The Wizard Of Oz Panto” by Jason Paul Ryan on 7th of December.

Bunscoil McAuley Rice Callan presented “Far Far Away” (a new Pantomime) by Jason Paul Ryan on 13th and 14th of December.

Kilmaganny School presented “Aladdin Pantomime” by Jason Paul Ryan on Thursday 15th of December.

Freshford Tots 2 Teens Panto Group present “Beauty and The Beast” by Jason Paul Ryan at the end of January.

BAD Theatre Group Ballycallan will present “The Wizard Of Oz” Pantomime by Jason Paul Ryan at beginning of February.

Click this link http://youtu.be/uim9S_OqE58

Official website -  www.thestonemusical.com

THERE was magic in the air at the Watergate Theatre in Kilkenny city on Wednesday night when one of Kilkenny’s most (in)famous residents was brought back to life in a way that was utterly believable and riveting.

The world premiere of the musical based on the life of Dame Alice Kyteler was powerful and gripping from start to finish and reminds us that in times of recession it is to the arts we turn to be uplifted, to be transported, temporarily, from the mundane of our every day life to another, better, place.

Jason Paul Ryan

The brainchild of local man, Jason Paul Ryan, The Stone captures the essence of the notorious noble woman and remains true to the her real life story. It grips the imagination from start to finish and for pure entertainment mixed in with historical relevance, it is the business.

The music, singing, humour, intrigue and acting all added up to a show that could grace any stage and with some tinkering and the backing of an impresario could make it to the West End or even Broadway. The raw material is there - The quality of the songs was top class, the singing was wonderful and the delivery of the words Fantastic.

There were some flaws and these will have to be worked on but overall it was a great story, told well with a sympathetic musical score that underlined the quality of the whole thing. The idea and its execution were central to the success and the actors/singers put meat on the words and lyrics.

It was with some trepidation that I entered the Watergate theatre to watch the show based on the novel by local woman, Claire Nolan, daughter of family historian, Pat Nolan. I need not have worried because from the opening scene we were transported to medieval Kilkenny and to the House of Kyteler which stands to this day on Kieran Street, now owned and run by the ubiquitous Nicki Flynn, great granddaughter of Charles Dickens. (You couldn’t make this stuff up).

Self-discipline

Jason Paul Ryan played the male lead with great aplomb but it was Alice who would make or break the show. In the part Rebecca Murphy was superb and captured the essence of Dame Alice and she struck a good balance between showing her wickedness, determination and her fragility. The role required a lot of self-discipline from Rebecca and her measured performance was in keeping with the character and held the show together.

Petronella who was burned at the stake because of her association with Dame Alice who fled the country before she could be executed, was really good. Again home-grown talent, Sarah Brennan has a voice to die for and reminds me of a young Elaine Page such was her delivery. She was the love interest for Jason Paul Ryan who played the male servant, Philip in the Kyteler household and their main duet certainly enthralled the audience.

For me, Deirdre played by Claire Funchion sang angelically and it was a pity she was killed off so early although she did re-appear in the chorus later on in the show.And even though it was only a cameo role, Mary Cradock brought all her experience to bear as the old witch and was thoroughly convincing, adding to the general mood of the musical.

The best laughs came when Pat Moylan who played Adam le Blund, lampooned himself in the role as a successful suitor as Alice’s second husband who died unexpectedly in bed after being given a drink by Alice.

Tom O’Loughlin is a fine character actor and he was very enjoyable as Alice’s final husband who again met a sad but natural end. The other haunting voice from the show was courtesy of Alice’s nurse, Sharon Molloy. She added hugely to the show and was one of the pillars of the production.

Stefan Jordan Doyle, the musical director, conducted things brilliantly from the pit and a four man ensemble sounded like a 20 piece orchestra, it really made a difference and Stefan’s timing was superb. Songwriter, Tom Bolger worked closely with Jason Paul Ryan on the numbers from the show and they were of a very high quality. Tom Bolger can be very proud of himself.

The other major collaborator on the work was Claire Nolan who wrote the novel on which the musical is based. Again, without her, the show would not have happened. And as Jason Paul Ryan said at the end of the run in the Watergate Theatre on Saturday: “Hopefully, this will not be the end of it.” I couldn’t agree more.

—– “…this was an historic moment for Stone Productions…”,

“…….Rebecca Murphy was an excellent Alice…”,

“…the fine vocal work of Sarah Brennan as Petronella and Jason Paul Ryan as Philip carried a lot of the story and the vocal thrust of the show - they were outstanding”,

“….a fine chorus and children’s chorus added vocal punch to the story…”,

“…Tony Murray was a strong bishop and David Brydone a timid Friar….”,

“…Niall Bambrick was a good William Kyteler…..Sharon Molloy was an excellent Nurse..”………..

 Many thanks to Liam Murphy for attending and writing his review - This can be found in full at www.munsterexpress.ie

Pictures curtousy of PAT MOORE PHOTOGRAPHY

 Show runs until Saturday Night at 8pm nightly plus matinee on Friday at 12 midday.

www.thestonemusical.com www.watergatetheatre.com

 “The Stone”  -  The Alice Kyteler haunting new musical to premier in Watergate Theatre 5th October         Come witness the spectacular, originally written and composed musical about an Anglo-Irish noblewoman accused of witchcraft in the fourteenth century  

A HAUNTING new musical which tells the story of a Kilkenny woman accused of witchcraft is about to open at The Watergate theatre, a moving production which will have theatre-goers on the edge of their seats and afraid to venture into the dark.

‘The Stone’ musical tells the story of Alice Kyteler – a rich woman who will do just about anything to stay rich and a bishop who will stop at nothing to destroy her. A superb stage adaption of the novel ‘The Stone’ will come to life on stage at the Watergate Theatre from October 5th, running for 4 nights until October 8th. 

Prepare to be amazed and astounded by a talented cast and fantastic musical numbers which tell the story of four husbands, famine, invasion, plague, a witch trial, burning at the stake, destroying the House of Kyteler and the collapsing of St. Canice’s Cathedral. 

The show’s creators are all from Kilkenny and the original music and lyrics are written by singer/composer and director, Jason Paul Ryan and composer, Tom Bolger.

Last month the show’s cast gave a taster of what’s to come by performing at the launch night in Alice’s old dwellings Kyteler’s Inn - formerly known as the House of Kyteler.  The audience really got a true glimpse into the life of the locals in these fascinating times.

Dame Alice Kyteler’s case was one of the first of its kind, following not long after Pope John XXII added witchcraft to the list of heresies in 1320. Dame Alice was married four times.  John le Poer, her fourth husband, was convinced that she was poisoning him. On his death her children immediately accused her of sorcery. Judgement was finally passed against her in 1325 by Richard de Ledrede, Bishop of Ossory. But the night before her scheduled execution she disappeared, never to be heard of again.

The story of the musical is based on the novel ‘The Stone’ by Claire Nolan who is also one of the co-collaborators of the stage show. Nolan herself gives another spooky element to the background of the show as on the wall of Alice’s former home in Kyteler’s Inn is a portrait of Dame Alice Kyteler  which hangs beside a photograph of Claire Nolan. The duo, who are separated by hundreds of years, look like twin sisters.

In 2008 Claire Nolan, an administrator at the University College Dublin, originally from Kilkenny, published The Stone, a biography of the notorious noblewoman. Claire has just released the second edition of ‘The Stone’ and it can be bought in all good book shops or visit www.clairenolan.com. 

In ‘The Stone’ musical Alice Kyteler is played by Rebecca Murphy; her servants Philip of Kilkenny played by Jason Paul Ryan and his forbidden love Petronella de Meath by Sarah Brennan and Bishop Richard Le Drede by Tony Murray. Visit the website www.thestonemusical.com for more information. For tickets contact the box office at the  Watergate Theatre, Parliament Street, Kilkenny. Booking on 056 77 61674 www.watergatetheatre.com

-ENDS-

For more information contact:

Siobhan Donohoe, MD Media - Siobhan@mdmedia.ie

086 1727972

The Alice Kyteler Musical 

Produced by Stone Productions Kilkenny in association with Starlight Stage Productions at the Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny 5^th – 8^th of October 2011.

www.thestonemusical.com