Philadelphia Here I Come!

Play by Brian Friel about a restless young man named Gareth O'Donnell who resides in the backwater of Ballybeg, County Donegal, Ireland, and longs for more from his life. He does not enjoy a close relationship with his distant, widowed father, but has 'Madge' as a mother figure.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He receives an invitation from relatives inviting him to come to Philadelphia, and much of the play concerns the character's internal monologues about the move and about America, which he declares is "pagan" at one point, showing the discernment one would expect from a Roman Catholic from rural Ireland in 1964.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~