New Play "Ellen's Boys" Takes Audience from A Dorchester Triple Decker to Center Stage

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On October 4, 5 and 6, local audiences will have the opportunity to travel back in time for a uniquely working call Irish American experience – life in a triple decker in Dorchester, 1965. The Foundry, collaborating with True Rep Theatre, presents Ellen’s Boys, by Braintree playwright Jim Sullivan.

Ellen’s Boys focuses on the Flaherty family, living in their Dorchester triple decker, in 1965. Ellen, a widow who has raised six children on her own, must learn to accept the changing times and her aging children’s embrace of the future.

Her middle son, Gil, now in his thirties, still lives at home and struggles to come to terms with his sexuality in the face of his staunch Irish Catholic upbringing, as his mother attempts to marry him off. We follow the Flaherty family through a tumultuous year of upheaval in which no secrets are safe, no boundaries are respected, and only their love for one another, and their sense of humor, can save them.

“True Rep strives to create an environment and artistic landscape for local playwrights to be heard and audiences to experience something unique and eye opening. We are delighted to be working with The Foundry to bring Ellen’s Boys to a wider audience,” says Artistic Director Donald Sheehan, who plays Gil in the True Rep production.

“You don’t have to be Irish American to recognize this family,” says Victoria Bond, who plays Ellen. “Their dysfunction is tempered by love, and they are beautifully imperfect and human.”

Paul Noonan, Artistic Advisor at True Rep, who plays the eldest son, John, adds, “Audiences can’t help but root for the Flaherty family – just as our cast is rooting for the play.”

The playwright, James Sullivan, a Braintree, MA resident, who has been writing plays for 30 years, says, “I am humbled by the hard work and authenticity that the True Rep bring to my play, and thrilled by the level of talent they bring to this production. Showcasing the play at The Foundry is a thrill and an honor.”

The performances are set for Friday, October 4, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 5th, 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, October 6th, 2 p.m. at The Foundry, 101 Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA. Tickets are $30 general admission, $25 students, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit TrueRepTheatre.com/Ellens-Boys.