American Producer Gets Lavish Sligo Musical On The Way

I knew one certain thing about New Yorker, Philip Price, before we had a chance to chat. And that was that he was a workaholic! I mean it is not often that a professional producer – after completing a hectic term in the competitive realm of American theatre – comes to a small place like Sligo to stage what promises to be one of the largest and most glamorous musical shows ever to be put on here. The show, “Where’s Charlie?”, will run for nine days and has made use of some of Sligo’s top amateur talent. And it has all been done within six weeks! A hectic schedule and still Mr. Price smiles and remarks: “I have been coming to Sligo on my holidays for the past four years”. A house in Dromard originally brought Philip to Sligo. He came with friends to do it up and he now holidays yearly here. Why, I asked him, was he so interested in staging a production of “Where’s Charlie?” in Sligo? “I guess the play held an attraction for me. It is a very old play – in fact it goes back to 1894. I first saw it when I was seventeen and it has always been a favourite”, he says.

Perhaps, inevitably, he became interested in local theatre. His first production was “Endgame” – which proved a tremendous success when it was staged in the Venue. And last year his production of “Rain”, a play by Somerset Maughan was also a great success. But “Where’s Charlie?” which opens in the Hawks Well this Friday, is his most ambitious, most expensive and most glamorous production in Sligo to date. “I must admit it is a terribly ambitious production. We have only had a short period of time in which to produce it and I van guarantee that it will be all set for the opening night”, he says. There will be a cast of twenty-four, including both old and new faces to local theatre. And how has he found our local talent? “I am impressed. One of our main difficulties was to find an actor to play Charlie and we were fortunate to find Martin Mc Dermottroe who is very talented. We have also found a variety of talented actors and singers to play the other parts”, he says. Philip pays dues to all who helped to mount the production, among them Kim Newport and Kathleen O’ Hara who are responsible for dancing and singing, respectively. He also praises the ‘wonderful’ chorus which will play a strong role in the standard of the production.

I asked him his opinion of amateur drama in Sligo:- “it is very competitive. For instance there are three amateur companies which is rather unusual. Now this is a good thing if they help and co-operate with each other and mutually raise the standard of local drama. But I believe there are some differences of opinion and lack of co-operation. This is a great pity because this is very non-productive”, he says. Philip is a professional producer in New York – the centre of American Theatre. He went there as a production co-ordinator and over the years he has worked at virtually all levels of theatre production. He currently works off-Broadway. According to Philip, theatre in the States is a totally different ballgame than here. “It is very tough and competitive. To stage a production you have to go through a maze of unions and producing is extremely expensive”, he says. However, at the moment Philip can rest from the fiery competitiveness of the New York thoroughfare as he enjoys the rather simpler, more friendly atmosphere of local theatre. “I enjoy holidaying in Sligo. People live at a more human, relaxed pace”, he says.

By Brendan Tansey, The Sligo Journal, August 20th, 1982