Donnybrook! opened on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre on May 18, 1961 and closed on July 15, 1961 after 68 performances and 2 previews. The director and choreographer was Jack Cole, with sets and costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian. The cast featured Art Lund (as John Enright), Joan Fagan (as Ellen Roe Danaher), Eddie Foy Jr., Susan Johnson (as Kathy Carey) and Philip Bosco (Will Danaher).[1] The original actress for the role of Ellen, Kipp Hamilton, left prior to opening due to a "respiratory ailment." Fagan was the stand-by for the role.[2][3]
John Enright, an Irish-American prizefighter, who has killed a man in the ring and vowed never to raise a hand again to anyone, returns to Ireland from America. He meets and woos a tempestuous Irish village maiden, Ellen Roe, who wants a man who will stand up and fight for her. However, Ellen's brother Will believes John to be a coward and gets in the way of the romance.[4]
The score included the ballads, "He Makes Me Feel I'm Lovely" and "I Have My Own Way", for Fagan and Lund, respectively, as well as "I Wouldn't Bet One Penny" and "Dee-lightful Is the Word" for the secondary couple, as well as a lively title song and the assertive "Sez I," which framed the show at the top of the first act and the end of the second.
^"Donnybrook!". PlaybillVault. Archived from the original on January 14, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Zolotow, Sam. "Fredric March May Play Angel In Paddy Chayefsky's 'Gideon': Coe and Cantor to Produce Play Opening Nov.". The New York Times. p.43. April 11, 1961
^Clemens, Samuel. "Hollywood's Irish Lass", Classic Images. p.13. July 2022
