Requests from US and UK to stage Horan musical

Requests from US and UK to stage Horan musical


Anton McNulty

THE musical celebrating the life and times of Mayo priest, Monsignor James Horan may be winging its way across the Atlantic and the Irish sea following its critically-acclaimed sell-out performances in the TF Royal Theatre.
The musical, ‘On a Wing and a Prayer’ performed to near sell-out crowds in the TF Royal Theatre in Castlebar over three nights from Thursday to Saturday last week. The musical was an adaptation of the best-selling book of the same name written by Terry Reilly, about the life and times of Monsignor Horan.
Following the success of the musical, Terry Reilly confirmed to The Mayo News that they have received enquiries from people in the US and the UK about staging the musical overseas but stressed nothing has been confirmed.
“We have had enquiries from England and the US but for it to happen is a different matter. We have such a huge cast involved and it would be difficult to get that amount of people involved overseas. We will see what happens but we are not doing anything about it yet,” he said.
Along with Tommy Marren of Mid West Radio and Lavinia Gilmartin, the Musical Director they set about adapting the story of Monsignor Horan into a musical. They composed 14 original songs for the show and spent three months getting the 125 member cast ready for the big night.
Terry said the reaction after the show from the audience was fantastic and surpassed all their expectations, with the proceeds of the event going to Mayo/Roscommon Hospice.
“The show was absolutely fantastic and the general feedback from the people who were at it was very good. Pat Jennings of the TF said it was one of the best shows in the TF and that is compared with all the professional shows. There were many people involved and 99 per cent of them never stood on stage before and it exceeded all our expectations,” he said.
Amongst the characters featured in the show were Charlie Haughey, Garret Fitzgerald, Padraig Flynn, Frank Harrington and Jim Fahy of RTÉ with both Padraig Flynn and Frank Harrington in the attendance along with members of the Horan family and former board members of the airport.