Dublin Carol is the Play to See This Holiday Season
PERFORMANCES EXTENDED AGAIN THROUGH JANUARY 4

Dublin Carol
By Conor McPherson

Directed by ensemble member Amy Morton
Featuring Stephen Louis Grush, William Petersen and Nicole Wiesner

John, a man whose life was nearly destroyed by drinking, now holds down a steady job at a Dublin undertaker’s office. When his estranged daughter appears on Christmas Eve with disturbing news, it sets off a series of painful confessions that ultimately offer John a chance to escape the burdens of his past.

Must Close January 4, 2009
In the Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre

“Highly Recommended! Gemlike…pitch perfect direction.” -Chicago Sun-Times

“Powerful and eloquent…does not reach for the formulaic finale of most Yuletide yarns” -New City

“Go see Part 1 of the McPherson fest! You gotta stare down the dark side of Christmas to really feel any of the good.” -Chicago Tribune

LISTEN to a podcast of ensemble member Amy Morton talking about directing Dublin Carol.

WATCH a video of actress Nicole Wiesner talking about the character of Mary.

LOOK at a photo gallery from the play in production.

Steppenwolf Website

Woulda Coulda Shoulda airs on CBS tonight at 9.00 pm (EST).

Synopsis

A double homicide involving a mother and her child may be linked to the prime suspect in a 12-year-old murder case. Meanwhile, Grissom testifies at the competency hearing of Natalie Davis, the so-called Miniature Killer.

Screencaps available at the weekend.

From the Chicago Reader

A show this dark might be a hard sell at the box office without a name actor. The Steppenwolf staging has one: William Petersen of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, making his first onstage appearance here in ten years. The young actor-athlete—remembered for viscerally exciting performances in such productions as In the Belly of the Beast, The Tooth of Crime, and Once in Doubt—has become a jowly graybeard, but lost none of his chops. Petersen’s deep connection to the text and compact, economic movement perfectly convey a man whose cautious demeanor hides an endless inner struggle.

The full review can be found here - Scrooge on Booze

Haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, but check it out folks, you can download the audio clip c/o Chicago Public Radio of the interview last month at the Chicago History Museum.

Click here

5 more reviews for A Dublin Carol

• Time Out Magazine Chicago
• The Examiner
• NewCityStage Chicago
• Chicago Critic
• Steadstyle Chicago

Thanks as always for the heads up, C.

After a couple of hissy fits and lots of cursing, we now have the following clips available in our Internet Clip Section.

• Dublin Carol Clips from the Chicago Suntimes Article last week.
• TMZ.com interview with Billy at LAX from July.

Clips available here

Again, we recommend the VLC Media Player to play our clips.  Its free and available for both PCs and MACs

CSI is once again nominated for Best TV Drama.

Head on over to the People’s Choice Awards website to place your vote and be entered into the prize draw to win a trip to the PCAs.

From Hedy Weiss of the Suntimes.

Petersen’s beautiful performance as the most ambivalent of men is at once filled with vitality and a certain inner resignation, and this creates the perfect tension. After his nearly decadelong run on the small screen with “CSI,” it is great to have this actor back on a stage, and he brings to his portrayal of a compulsively selfish and self-judging man a whole new subtlety and depth.

Read the full review by clicking the link below.

Examining an aging drunk’s DNA

We do have a collection of official theater reviews from several of the plays Billy has performed in over the years, we will be adding these new ones to the list as well as making the page a bit easier on the eyes over the coming days, but for now you can read previous reviews here.

Chris Jones of the Theater Loop, Chicago Tribune gives a review of A Dublin Carol.

At this weekend’s opening of Conor McPherson’s anti-festive drama “Dublin Carol,” three colossal entities battled for domination of the Steppenwolf stage.

Death. Drink. And William Petersen.

Since Petersen is probably the most interesting of the trio, I’ll take ‘em in reverse order.

Petersen, the star of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” hadn’t been out on stage for long Saturday night before a woman’s voice rang from a neighboring row. “He looks like a completely different person,” she said, as Petersen essayed McPherson’s melancholy, alcoholic undertaker. One had to resist the urge to rise pretentiously from one’s seat, screaming, “that’s because he’s an actor.”

But the voice reflected a new reality. To many of us, Petersen is a distinguished Chicago actor who went away to do some TV. But he’s now a bona-fide star making a two-show deal with the Chicago theater (his second outing will be in “Blackbird” at Victory Gardens next year).   It is an impressive commitment—one frequently promised by other breakout stars of our theater, but rarely fulfilled. But I think its creative sting will be in its second half.

Read the rest by clicking the link below.

Steppenwolf’s “A Dublin Carol”; Death, Drink & William Petersen.

Many thanks to Ruth who has kindly re-scanned a couple of articles for us.

• Rolling Stone Magazine - May 1986
• Smoke Magazine 2002

You can view these in The Gallery.