Nicholas Barasch to Star in The Butcher Boy at Irish Rep

Irish Repertory Theatre has announced casting for the world-premiere musical The Butcher Boy, based on the 1992 novel by Patrick McCabe. Previews are set to begin July 21 ahead of an August 1 opening, and the show will have a limited run through September 11.

Directed by Ciarán O'Reilly, The Butcher Boy features a book, music, and lyrics by Asher Muldoon, with music direction by David Hancock Turner and choreography by Barry McNabb.

Described as a "surrealist coming-of-age tale," the story of The Butcher Boy is as follows: "Life is hard for the youthful Francie Brady, who struggles to navigate the narrow streets and narrow minds of an Irish village in the 1960's. But his eternal optimism and carefree spirit carry him above his dysfunctional family and gossipy town, where he lives in a comic book dreamland with his best friend Joe. When he taunts newcomer Philip Nugent, his uptight mother Mrs. Nugent calls Francie's family a bunch of pigs. This triggers a violent pig obsession, which grows as Francie's life falls apart around him."

The cast of The Butcher Boy will include David Baida (On Your Feet!) as Pig 4, Nicholas Barasch (Hadestown National Tour) as Francie Brady, Carey Rebecca Brown (The Sound of Music National Tour) as Pig 2, Joe Cassidy (Waitress) as Alo/William, Kerry Conte (The Streets of New York) as Mary/Mary/Mary, Andrea Lynn Green (The Home Place) as Ma, Daniel Marconi (Made by God) as Phillip Nugent, Polly McKie (The Streets of New York) as Pig 3, Michele Ragusa (Flying Over Sunset) as Mrs. Nugent/Kathleen, Scott Stangland (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) as Da, and Teddy Trice (The Book of Mormon) as Pig 1. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

The creative team includes scenic design by Charlie Corcoran, costume design by Orla Long, lighting design by Kat Zhou, sound design by M. Florian Staab, orchestrations by Muldoon and Sammy Grob, and projection design by Dan Scully.