Kate Baldwin, Christopher Innvar, Mary Beth Peil and More Join The Dead, 1904 at Irish Rep

Full casting has been announced for The Dead, 1904, the immersive adaptation, staged for just 48 people per night, of James Joyce's seasonal novella. Previews begin on November 20 in the home of the American Irish Historical Society—a circa 1900 townhouse on the Upper East Side—with an opening night set for November 26. The limited run will conclude on January 5, 2025.

The cast will be led by Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin (Hello, Dolly!) as Gretta Conroy and Christopher Innvar (To Kill A Mockingbird) as Gabriel Conroy, with Úna Clancy as Kate Morkan and Tony Award nominee Mary Beth Peil as Julia Morkan.

The cast will also include violinist/fiddler Heather Bixler as Miss Daly, Terry Donnelly as Mrs. Malins, Karen Killeen as Mary Jane, Michael Kuhn as Bartell D’Arcy, Aedin Moloney as Molly Ivors, Michael Mellamphy as Mr. Browne, Jodie Sweeney as Lily and Gary Troy as Freddy Malins.

The Dead, 1904 is adapted by Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon and novelist Jean Hanff Korelitz and directed by Irish Rep co-founder Ciarán O’Reilly. It features choreography by Barry McNabb, costume design by Leon Dobkowski, lighting design by Michael Gottlieb, sound design by M. Florian Staab and properties design by Deirdre Brennan. 

A co-production of the Irish Repertory Theatre and Dot Dot Productions, The Dead, 1904 travels over three floors of the building, which has been restored to period decoration. Rooms used include the lobby, parlor, dining room and upstairs library.

The show includes a holiday meal, inspired by descriptions of the feast in Joyce’s story, served to cast and audience alike in the townhouse’s dining room: roast turkey breast stuffed with sprigs of parsley and herbs; beef tenderloin with fig and cocoa glaze; mashed “floury” potatoes; cranberry and pineapple relish; dried figs; artisanal raisins served on the vine and smoked almonds; and bread and butter pudding with vanilla custard. Wine, stout and spirits will also be served with the meal.

James Joyce’s novella The Dead describes a holiday gathering on January 6, 1904, the Feast of the Epiphany, in the Dublin home of two elderly sisters, Kate and Julia Morkan, and their niece, Mary Jane. At the party are students, friends, a celebrated tenor, a lost alcoholic, and the couple, Gabriel and Gretta Conroy. Over the course of an evening, there are conversations, music, dancing and dining. There are speeches and disagreements–polite and impolite–and when it is all over Gabriel learns something about his wife that changes his sense of who she is and who they are to each other, of what it actually means to be alive and to be dead.

*UPDATE (11/5/24): Úna Clancy replaced Estelle Parsons, who departed the production to personal conflicts, in the role of Aunt Kate.