The other night, several members of Ring 8 and some other boxing organizations attended a play which I really think you would enjoy.
Kid Shamrock Returns
Written by Administrator – Sweet Science (Edited some by Henry Hascup)
The acclaimed Off Broadway production KID SHAMROCK returns with an exclusive run of 10 performances at the TADA Theater from Friday, November 25 to Sunday December 4. The heart-wrenching and inspiring true story of middleweight contender “Irish” Bobby Cassidy will be directed by former WBO heavyweight champion of the world, Michael Bentt.
“KID SHAMROCK rocks, rolls and provides a raw slice of what we think it is to be a fighter,” said Bentt. “A fighter intuits that after every congratulatory pat on the back, (literal or metaphorical) a shot, or a punch delivered from the blind side awaits. It’s the nature of the game and the nature of life; It takes maniacal and monumental courage to endure and get up every morning, which is why the storytelling in KID SHAMROCK is truly transcending.”
Examining the depths of a fighter’s soul and celebrating the proud tradition of the sweet science, KID SHAMROCK provides a rare glimpse into the mindset of the fighter. And providing that glimpse are fighters themselves. The cast is replete with former boxers, including John Duddy, Seamus McDonagh, Wayne Kelly and Cassidy himself.
“These fighters have shown a tremendous amount of heart inside the ring,” said executive producer David Schuster. “Guess what? They display the same heart and courage on the stage. The fighters, the actors, they lay it on the line every night.”
The cast is anchored by veteran actor Vinny Vella (The Sopranos, Casino), the show-stealing Patrick Joseph Connolly and the explosive Nick Roman.
Each performance provides a message of perseverance and hope. As such, the cast and crew of KID SHAMROCK would like to extend a sincere thank you to Maxim Group LLC for sponsoring an evening in which tickets will be given away exclusively to teenage fighters from boxing gyms in the New York area. We applaud Maxim Group’s desire to expose young men and women to such important life lessons played out on the stage.
Praise for KID SHAMROCK:
“The boxing scenes may well be the best-choreographed fight action ever seen on a New York stage, on or off-Broadway,” — George Kimball, The Irish Times
“Kid Shamrock packs a punch,” — The Irish Voice
“For boxing, today it’s Off Broadway, tomorrow Broadway!” — New York Daily News
“Poignant … superbly written,” — Brian Doogan, The Ring magazine.
For more information: Email Kidshamrockplay@gmail.com
or call Gary D. Morgan 646-772-8704
Twitter: @KidShamrockplay
facebook.com/KidShamrock
The TADA Theater:
15 West 28th Street
NY, NY 10001
(Between Broadway and 5th)
Phone: 212. 252.1619
The Cast
John Duddy – The recently retired middleweight contender had a 29-2 (18 knockouts) as a professional boxer. Among his victories, John has wins over former IBF world champion Yuri Campas and former European champion Howard Eastman. As an amateur fighter, The Derry Destroyer notched over 100 wins and was national champion of Ireland. Immensely popular in New York City and Ireland, Duddy’s fights were social events not to be missed by the boxing crowd. Upon his retirement from the ring, John turned to acting and scored a role in the critically acclaimed television series, “Lights Out.” John also calls fights for the BBC and the MSG Network. He was voted one of Ireland’s 10 Most Beautiful People.
Seamus McDonagh – A former New York Golden Gloves champion, Seamus turned pro and became a cruiserweight and heavyweight contender while fighting regularly at Madison Square Garden. In 1990, he fought Evander Holyfield for the United States heavyweight title on HBO. The St. John’s graduate has a long list of acting credits. He has appeared in the films “2by4” (Sundance Film Festival) and “The Shankill Road,” and “Whatever Happened to Rocky Sullivan.” He also appeared Off Broadway in, “Bobby Sands’ M.P.”
Vinny Vella – A veteran actor and New York City institution, Vinny is most famous for his role of Jimmy Petrille on HBO’s emmy-winning series, “The Sopranos.” He also played Artie Piscano, in the Martin Scorcese-directed film, “Casino.” Among Vinny’s other film credits are, “Kill the Irishman,” “Find Me Guilty,” “Analyze That” and “This Thing of Ours.”
Patrick Joseph Connolly — His film credits include, “Gardener of Eden,” which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival, was directed by Kevin Connolly and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. He also appeared as the truck driver in the final scene of the final eposide of the HBO hit series, “The Sopranos.” His stage credits include, “Prisoner of Second Avenue,” and “A Letter from Ethyl Kennedy.”
Bobby Cassidy – Bobby fought from 1963 to 1980 and the southpaw was world-rated in the junior middleweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. In 1975, he was ranked number one in the world as a light heavyweight by the WBC. As a trainer, Bobby led two fighters to the world title, Donny Lalonde and Lonnie Bradley. As an actor, Cassidy has appeared in three films, Rocky, Uncle Joe Shannon and This Thing of Ours.
NICHOLAS ROMAN – A native of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York’s original industrial neighborhood that has seen it’s landmark bustling factories change to become the city’s hottest and most inspiring art neighborhood. He began his career as a member of the ‘burgs legendary Context Studios original acting workshops. He appears as Nico, in the up and coming film “Blunt,” directed by Jimmy Smallhorne. On stage, he made his debut as Valdez in Kid Shamrock at the Atlantic Theater Company in February. He is delighted and honored to reprise the role, for which he dedicates to his late mom Lily, who sadly passed away this summer. It is she that gives any talent I have. Thank you mom.
SHANNON LOWER – Shannon has been a carnival barker, comic book character and a ballroom, Latin and Congolese dancer. She studied under Gene Frankel and Jason Bennett. She has performed on stage and film in NYC, L.A. and Europe, with a best actress nomination at the Shockerfest International Film Festival in California for her role in Headhunter: The Assessment Weekend. Her film subHysteria had a successful string oftheatrical runs throughout South America and Los Angeles. In theatre, she has performed in numerous productions – most recently as Sonia in Yasmina Reza’s Life X 3 at the historic ACC Theater and in various productions as a founding member of the theater company Ticket 2 Eternity Productions.
MARK McPHERSON – A slick former junior middleweight contender from Long Island. As a pro, Mark was 20-3 with eight knockouts and was a regular attraction at Madison Square Garden’s Felt Forum in the mid 1980s. He fought two world champions — Frank Tate and Duane Thomas. He beat notable fighters such as Keith Adams, Anthony Holt and Jeff McCracken. Mark has been published as a writer in The Ring magazine. This is his acting debut.
JOSEPH MAGNOLI – “This kid packs a punch literally and has a great future in any endeavor he may choose”, says director Michael Bentt, of Joseph, who is making his theatrical debut. Joseph said, ” I’m very excited and everyone has just been great. These guys are so cool to hang out with.” Check Joseph out on YouTube with his music video “We As Kids.” Joseph would like to thank Bobby Cassidy Jr. and Micheal Bentt for all their faith in him as well as his aunts, uncles, cousins: Ave, Julia, Sumner, Bobby and Preston along with his great grandmother Dee. He thanks his grandmother and his Pop for all their love and support.
JIM WALSH – An actor for over 20 years, Jim’s credits include theater, movie and television. He has been “Little Pussy” in New York Dinner Theater’s production of the Soaprano’s. He acted in theater productions of ‘The Miracle Worker,’ ‘The Iceman Cometh,’ ‘Death of A Salesman’ among many others. Jim has appeared on television in ‘Law and Order,’ ‘Central Park West,’ ‘Strong Medicine’ and ‘The Sopranos.’ He can be seen on the screen in ‘City Hall,’ ‘The Mirror Has Two Faces’ and ‘Ransom.’
TOMMY RAINONE – A slick welterweight prospect, Tommy ‘Razor’ Rainone has a 16-4 record as a pro. He was inspired to get into boxing by the “Rocky” movie series. Tommy was a part of the first-ever boxing card at the new Yankee Stadium. He has also fought twice at Madison Square Garden’s Theater. Rainone’s amateur career was brief, consisting of approximately 40 fights. In that short span he fought a variety of world class fighters including former welterweight world champion Luis Collazo and light-welterweight contender Francisco “EI Gato” Figueroa.
Wayne Kelly – A former pro fighter and longtime sparring partner of Bobby Cassidy and Gerry Cooney. Waynw has fought in the Nassau Coliseum and Sunnyside Garden. Kelly is now a world-reknowned referee. He has officiated over 50 world title fights and has officiated such greats as Oscar de la Hoya and Arturo Gatti.
MIKE BROOKS – Mike came into boxing at age sixteen and currently trains at the Westbury Boxing Club. “I have aspirations for going all the way with boxing. 1 want to hold a world title and unify it one day. God gave me the gift of having the drive and being healthy. People don’t realize what they have and I want to make the best out of it. I want to be the 135-140 pound Marciano.” Mike is a lightweight with a 6-0 record. He competed in numerous national amateur tournaments before turning pro. He recently fought at Madison Square Garden. “You’ve got to work hard in life to get what you want. Go hard or go home.”
RICHIE NEVES – An exciting action fighter from New Hyde Park, this welterweight has a record 1-0-1 as a pro. In the amateur ranks, Richie reached the finals of the New York Golden Gloves and the Long Island Championships. He trains at the Westbury Boxing Club on Long Island.
JAKE BRODSKY – Jake will be attending the French Culinary Institute in the Spring of2012. Jake, a welterweight, competed in the Junior Olympics and reached the finals of his division before losing a close fight to a more experienced boxer from the Bronx. “I love the hard work you put in at the gym,” Jake Brodsky says. “I love the way you feel when you get out of the ring after sparring.
Director Michael Bentt – A modern-day renaissance man, Bentt has excelled in both athletics and the arts. As a fighter, Michael is the former WBO world heavyweight champion, winning the title via first-round knockout of Tommy Morrison on HBO in 1993. He is one of the most decorated amateur fighters in U.S. history, winning four New York Golden Gloves titles and five U.S. national championships. He earned a bronze medal in the 1985 and 1987 World Championships. In 2001, Bentt played the role of Sonny Liston opposite of Will Smith in the MichaelMann-directed, “Ali.” His other film credits include, “Public Enemies,” opposite Johnny Depp and “State Property 2,” opposite Damon Dash. His TV credits include, “Saturday Night Live,” “JAG” and “Sons of Anarchy.” In 2003, he was the first actor-in-residence at Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania, where he played the title role in Othello, The Moor of Venice. Michael has also written about boxing for HBO.com and Bert Sugar’s Fight Game. Kid Shamrock marks Bent’s directorial debut.
Executive producer, David A. Schuster – David grew up in Bayside, Queens, New York and was a 1977 graduate of Cardozo High School. He received his BA in Communications from University Of South Florida (Tampa) in 1981. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, David was a manufacturer of designer jeans in the garment industry. For the last 10 years he has been involved with investment banking and raising money for different projects and businesses, including independent films. As a result of his life-long interest in both boxing and the cinema he has formed “Winner Take All Productions.” Among WTA’s first projects was a feature-length documentary on the plight of Cuban boxers. Winner Take All is currently in pre-production for a feature film on Roberto Duran.
Producer, Gary D. Morgan – Gary is an actor/director/producer whose credits include stage, film, and television, radio and print media. He is a photojournalist whose work has appeared in national and international publications as well as internet media. Gary directed the World Premier of Kid Shamrock in 2007.
ASSISTANT MUSIC DIRECTOR PATRICK HICKEY – Patrick has been playing drums and percussion for more than 30 years. He has appeared as a session drummer on many regional band recordings, including his own band featuring musicians Vin Sarnicola, Greg Botty and Chris Ducharm. As a boxing fan and enthusiast, Patrick is proud to be part of this production of Kid Shamrock, “Boxing is percussion in its rawest form and I appreciate the opportunity to try and reveal that raw emotion through the use of drums.” Patrick would like to thank his parents, Francis and Bernard Hickey for their lifelong love and support and his son, Christian who inspired his renewed outlook toward drumming.
STAGE MANAGER RAYMOND TODD – Raymond is an audio book narrator for Blackstone Audio and Hovel Audio and has narrated more than 60 titles. He is Operating Manager for The Shadow Box Theatre, and he was co-producer and production coordinator for the award winning documentary, Liberty Street: Alive at Ground Zero. He is a spoken word/performance artist with the jazz ensemble Naked Women, and has lead several ensembles as a free jazz trombonist, poet, and toy piano player. He has acted as a stage manager for several Off Broadway productions, and as a First AD on two feature films.
Playwright Bobby Cassidy Jr. – A sportswriter for two decades, Bobby has covered a variety of major sporting events, including the World Series, U.S. Open, Belmont Stakes, Stanley Cup Playoffs and more than 100 world title fights. His work has appeared in Newsday, the New York Post, Time Out NY, ESPN.com and The Ring. He has authored or co-authored four books. In 2006, he directed the documentary short film, “Pride and Passion: Negro Leagues Baseball,” which screened at the Coney Island Film Festival.
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