Just east of Fairfax on Melrose, the Matrix Theatre is hosting something extraordinary-and you'd be wise to run, not walk, to grab tickets before Corktown '39 closes on May 25. Riveting. Stunning. Unforgettable. If there were awards for 110-minute one-act plays, this one would sweep them all.
Set in the tight-knit Irish neighborhood of Corktown, Philadelphia in 1939, the play throws us into the heart of an IRA plot to assassinate King George VI. (Spoiler: the real king later succumbed to lung cancer, not a sniper's bullet.) But in Corktown '39, history teeters on a knife's edge.
The plot, concocted by the visiting IRA heavy Sean Russell (played with magnetic intensity by J.D. Cullum), hinges on Martin, a brooding, battle-scarred sniper flown in from the Spanish Civil War (a simmering Jeff Lorch). As the conspiracy bubbles beneath the surface, a forbidden romance ignites between Martin and Kate, the feisty daughter of Mike Keating-brought to fiery life by Ann Noble.
At the center of it all is Keating himself, portrayed by the masterful Ron Bottitta. Keating is the straw that stirs the drink: a patriarch with a heart bleeding green, a mover-and-shaker in the U.S. branch of Clan na Gael, the secretive organization pushing for Irish unification. Bottitta fills the stage with larger-than-life authority, commanding the room with every booming pronouncement, every wide, heartfelt gesture.
Tempers flare, allegiances shift, and the stakes escalate in this bristling, fast-paced drama. Corktown '39 doesn't just show you a historical moment-it drops you right into that paneled living room, where you can practically smell the mashed potatoes, the ham sandwiches, and the sharp single malt whiskey. You can feel the younger generation jitterbugging across the floor-and you can feel the pull of duty, loyalty, and conscience pressing down on everyone in the room.
The chemistry between Noble and Lorch crackles from their first glance, their simmering connection kept tightly leashed by the mores of the era. Their tender yet dangerous affection offers a poignant counterpoint to the political machinations around them, where bigger questions loom: Where does your loyalty lie? What are you willing to sacrifice for the cause-or for love?
Thomas Vincent Kelly shines as Tim Flynn, the family friend caught between two worlds, delivering a nuanced, heartfelt performance that ultimately becomes the play's moral compass. His struggle becomes ours, as we are forced to wonder: would I follow the crowd-or stand alone and risk everything?
Director Steven Robman's astute guidance of John Fazakerley's tight, muscular script keeps the 110 minutes snapping along with the velocity of a thriller. And when the lights finally came up, the transformation was so total, it was jarring. We'd been whisked back to 1939, a world where static crackled from the family radio-"Fibber McGee and Molly" echoing through the warm wood-paneled room-and where hard choices lurked around every corner.
A special nod must go to Mark Mendelson (scenic design) Guillermo Cienfuegos is the artistic director: a richly detailed living room, with its grand archway, heavy curtains ready to hush conspiratorial whispers, and a stage that truly felt like a home worth fighting-and dying-for.
As the climax loomed, I found myself wanting to shout at the characters-"Look out!"-so deeply had I invested in their fates. Corktown '39 doesn't offer easy answers about war, terror, or loyalty. It reminds us that trying to separate violence from virtue is often a fool's errand. War is terror. Terror is war. Semantics won't save you.
And one more thing: prepare yourself for a night of full-throttle Irish immersion. They'll drink it, fight it, and curse it-with a passion only the Irish could conjure. For fecking sure.
Corktown '39 Corktown '39 runs at 8pm on Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays; 2pm Sundays through, May 25, 2025 (no performance on Monday May 5, 12). Rogue Machine, in the Matrix Theatre, is located at 7657 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046. Tickets are $60 on Saturdays for general seating; $45 on Fridays, Sundays and Mondays. Seniors: $35 Students with ID: $25. Shows4Less on Friday May 9 ($25). Reservations: https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/ or for more information 855-585-5185.