Who’s Your
Daddy? follows a rich tradition of Irish
storytelling in theater. The storyteller
in this case is Johnny O’Callagahan playing with the tradition in some
interesting ways.
Johnny’s
story concerns his last minute trip to Uganda with a friend, a trip taken more
out of boredom than anything else. His
friend, a Hollywood acquaintance armed with little more than a camera, a dream
of a documentary and an inflated sense of self-importance, was on a mission to
an orphanage near the Congo / Rwanda border.
Johnny relates the trip, and the circumstances that prompted it, in humorous
detail.
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| Johnny O'Callagahan in Who's Your Daddy at The Irish Repertory Theatre |
Once there,
Johnny was stunned by the conditions, but his story isn’t one of a sudden
transformation into Florence Nightingale.
It is a refreshing tale of hope and a boy that brings a sense of wonder
back to Johnny’s life. And Johnny, like
anyone who would decide on a whim to go to Africa instead of look for his lost
dog, decides to adopt the boy – because, well it was the thing to do.
The process
turns out to be much more complicated and extensive than Johnny expects. And here is where the story delivers to it’s teller, a fork in the road. Johnny is at the
whims of various tribal elders in Uganda and government bureaucrats in the
United States. Johnny O’Callagahan’s
journey through the labyrinth of laws and customs will require a determination
and perseverance than he has never shown in the past. It is full of false promises, dead ends and
well meaning people deciding that a single man in Hollywood might not be the
best guardian for a young Ugandan boy.
And Johnny has proven, so far, to be less than dedicated to a cause.
Who’s Your
Daddy? is a great story, told with wit and energy that is not normally
associated with the stereotypical Sad Irish Tale. Mr. O’Callagahan forsakes the dark stage and
single spot that normally comes with these stories as well, preferring a stage
with various places to perch and lean and pace.
He (and Director Tom Ormeny) give physical immediacy to emotional rollercoaster
this experience prompted.
It is a tale
not to be missed.
Who’s Your Daddy?
Playwright: Johnny O’Callagahan
Director: Tom Ormeny
Cast: Johnny O’Callagahan
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