Celebrities to descend on Ballinrobe for musical

Celebrities to descend on Ballinrobe for musical


Ballinrobe Musical Society’s world amateur premiere of The Pirate Queen is set to draw some top celebrities to the south Mayo town this coming weekend.
Included in the list of guests pencilled in for Saturday night’s final production are Riverdance creators Moya Doherty and John McColgan, who also brought The Pirate Queen to Broadway.
But the big names don’t end there — former RTE broadcaster Mike Murphy is also set to attend the show as guests of Doherty and McColgan.
RTE Director-General Cathal Goan is also confirmed for the show, which takes place in the local Community School auditorium.
There has also been some speculation locally that at least one world-famous musician may be in the audience next weekend. However, that has not yet been confirmed.
Meanwhile, ticket chaos has descended on the town. “The show is completely sold out, not a ticket to be had from now until the end,” said Society Chairperson Pat McGovern.
“If we had another 5,000 tickets, I think we could sell them. The phenomenal reaction to the show, plus the outstanding media coverage, has meant this show has really caught the imagination.
“It is our first time to run for ten nights. Over 5,000 people will attend - and still it’s like an All-Ireland final week here in Mayo. It is actually quite humbling for all of us involved.”
MEANWHILE, last Saturday night’s show was attended by Claude Michel Schönberg, who wrote the music for the show. He has also penned such classics as Lés MiserΡbles and Miss Saigon.
Mr Schönberg took to the stage at the end of the show, and in an emotion-charged moment, heaped lavish praise on the production. He was amazed by the fact that all on stage did so ‘purely for the love of the music.’ He said this love transmitted itself throughout the show. He was also complimentary about the fact that the Society repeats this huge effort year after year, and said he would love to attend a future show in Ballinrobe
Mr Schönberg then went backstage to meet with the cast and production team. He was again unstinting in his praise, and emotions again ran high as he spoke of his joy at seeing his music treated with such love and reverence.
The Pirate Queen has received spontaneous standing ovations on all nights to date. It continues nightly this week.