Press Release for Kid Shamrock

Posted on | November 22, 2011 | No Comments

Winner Take All Productions Presents

KID SHAMROCK

November 18, 2011, New York City — The acclaimed Off Broadway production KID SHAMROCK returns with an exclusive run of 10 performances at the TADA Theater from Friday, November 25 to Sunday December 4. The heart-wrenching and inspiring true story of middleweight contender “Irish” Bobby Cassidy will be directed by former WBO heavyweight champion of the world, Michael Bentt.

“KID SHAMROCK rocks, rolls and provides a raw slice of what we think it is to be a fighter,” said Bentt. “A fighter intuits that after every congratulatory pat on the back, (literal or metaphorical) a shot, or a punch delivered from the blind side awaits. It’s the nature of the game and the nature of life; It takes maniacal and monumental courage to endure and get up every morning, which is why the storytelling in KID SHAMROCK is truly transcending.”

Examining the depths of a fighter’s soul and celebrating the proud tradition of the sweet science, KID SHAMROCK provides a rare glimpse into the mindset of the fighter. And providing that glimpse are fighters themselves. The cast is replete with former boxers, including John Duddy, Seamus McDonagh, Wayne Kelly and Cassidy himself.

“These fighters have shown a tremendous amount of heart inside the ring,” said executive producer David Schuster. “Guess what? They display the same heart and courage on the stage. The fighters, the actors, they lay it on the line every night.”

The cast is anchored by veteran actor Vinny Vella (The Sopranos, Casino), the show-stealing Patrick Joseph Connolly and the explosive Nick Roman.

Each performance provides a message of perseverance and hope. As such, the cast and crew of KID SHAMROCK would like to extend a sincere thank you to Maxim Group LLC for sponsoring an evening in which tickets will be given away exclusively to teenage fighters from boxing gyms in the New York area. We applaud Maxim Group’s desire to expose young men and women to such important life lessons played out on the stage.

Praise for KID SHAMROCK:

“The boxing scenes may well be the best-choreographed fight action ever seen on a New York stage, on or off-Broadway,” — George Kimball, The Irish Times

“Kid Shamrock packs a punch,” — The Irish Voice

“For boxing, today it’s Off Broadway, tomorrow Broadway!” — New York Daily News

“Poignant … superbly written,” — Brian Doogan, The Ring Magazine.

For tickets by phone call: 1-800-838-3006 in the U.S, in the UK 0800 411 8881.

In Europe and the rest of the world call +44 122 444 3375. Tickets are $40.

Tickets can be purchased online at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/208529

The Play will be performed at:
The TADA Theater:

15 West 28th Street

NY, NY 10001

(Between Broadway and 5th Avenue)
The Cast
John Duddy – The recently retired middleweight contender had a 29-2 (18 knockouts) as a professional boxer. Among his victories, John has wins over former IBF world champion Yuri Campas and former European champion Howard Eastman. As an amateur fighter, The Derry Destroyer notched over 100 wins and was national champion of Ireland. Immensely popular in New York City and Ireland, Duddy’s fights were social events not to be missed by the boxing crowd. Upon his retirement from the ring, John turned to acting and scored a role in the critically acclaimed television series, “Lights Out.” John also calls fights for the BBC and the MSG Network. He was voted one of Ireland’s 10 Most Beautiful People.

Seamus McDonagh – A former New York Golden Gloves champion, Seamus turned pro and became a cruiserweight and heavyweight contender while fighting regularly at Madison Square Garden. In 1990, he fought Evander Holyfield for the United States heavyweight title on HBO. The St. John’s graduate has a long list of acting credits. He has appeared in the films “2by4” (Sundance Film Festival) and “The Shankill Road,” and “Whatever Happened to Rocky Sullivan.” He also appeared Off Broadway in, “Bobby Sands’ M.P.”
Nicholas Roman- is a native of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York’s original industrial neighborhood that has seen its landmark bustling factories change to become the city’s hottest and most inspiring art neighborhood. He began his emerging career as an actor and model as a member of the ‘burgs legendary Context Studios original acting workshops. He appears as Nico, in the up and coming film BLUNT, directed by Jimmy Smallhorne, director of the Sundance hit film 2by4. On stage, he made his debut as Valdez in Kid Shamrock when it played at the prestigious Atlantic Theater Company in 2011. He is delighted and honored to reprise the role, for which he dedicates to his late mom Lily, who sadly passed away this summer. It is she that gives any talent I have. Thank you mom.
Vinny Vella – A veteran actor and New York City institution, Vinny is most famous for his role of Jimmy Petrille on HBO’s emmy-winning series, “The Sopranos.” He also played Artie Piscano, in the Martin Scorcese-directed film, “Casino.” Among Vinny’s other film credits are, “Kill the Irishman,” “Find Me Guilty,” “Analyze That” and “This Thing of Ours.”

Patrick Joseph Connolly — His film credits include, “Gardener of Eden,” which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival, was directed by Kevin Connolly and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. He also appeared as the truck driver in the final scene of the final episode of the HBO hit series, “The Sopranos.” His stage credits include, “Prisoner of Second Avenue,” and “A Letter from Ethyl Kennedy.”

Bobby Cassidy – Bobby fought from 1963 to 1980 and the southpaw was world-rated in the junior middleweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. In 1975, he was ranked number one in the world as a light heavyweight by the WBC. As a trainer, Bobby led two fighters to the world title, Donny Lalonde and Lonnie Bradley. As an actor, Cassidy has appeared in three films, Rocky, Uncle Joe Shannon and This Thing of Ours.

Mark Breland – One of the most decorated amateur fighters in history, Mark compiled a 110-1 record. He won a record five New York Golden Gloves titles, a gold medal at the World Championships and a gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games. As a pro, Mark is a two-time world welterweight champion. His movie credits include featured roles in “Lords of Discipline,” “Summer of Sam,” and “He Got Game.” On the small screen, he has appeared in “Miami Vice.” Mark is also a boxer trainer who has worked with numerous fighters.
Wayne Kelly – A former pro fighter and longtime sparring partner of Bobby Cassidy, Kelly is now a world-renowned referee. He has officiated over 50 world title fights.

Mark McPherson – A former junior middleweight contender from Long Island. As a pro, he was 20-3 with eight knockouts and was a regular attraction at Madison Square Garden’s Felt Forum in the mid 1980s. He fought two world champions — Frank Tate and Duane Thomas. He beat notable fighters such as Keith Adams, Anthony Holt and Jeff McCracken. Mark has been published as a writer in The Ring magazine. This is his acting debut.

Jim Walsh- An actor for over 20 years, Jim’s credits include theater, movie and television. He has been “Little Pussy” in New York Dinner Theater’s production of the Soaprano’s. He has acted in theater productions of The Miracle Worker, The Iceman Cometh, Death of A Salesman among many others. Jim has appeared on television in Law and Order, Central Park West, VIP, Strong Medicine and The Sopranos. He can be seen on the screen in City Hall, The Mirror Has Two Faces and Ransom.

Joseph Magnoli aka Jo Jo – Joseph loves acting, singing and most of all, entertaining. He has and still is putting on shows for family, friends and neighbors. Joseph came in 2nd runner up in an international prince and princess pageant. He is a bright intelligent young boy whose memory is very sharp. He also takes direction very well. “They say I’m the new kid on the block, but not on my block. Everyone’s wondering what I’ll come up with next. Now it’s time to move off my block.” Check out Joseph singing “We As Kids” on You Tube.

Ian McGrady- Was born and reared in Manhattan, lived Washington State, and presently lives in Queens. He attended Bard College. Ian has trained in Kim Stanley technique for more than 10 years with John Uecker, including sense memory, effective memory, a modified Meisner repetition exercise, cold readings, and scene study. Ian’s roles at the Atlantic Theater, Theater for a New City, and The Looking Glass Theater have demanded heightened circumstances and magic realism that include (unactable) heightened states of being such as portraying the enlightened (Abbott Gee Shim in “White Eyebrow and the Destruction of Shaolin”, Adonis in “Give me Adonis!”), and the death space (Video Viagra, Beanie Baby Addiction at TNC), among many other downtown NYC theater and short film productions. He was also a principal in a Bob Giraldi Sears commercial, and has had many cameo appearances on ABC News’ World News Now. Ian was also directed by Sundance Grand Prize Nominee Director James Smallhorne in the first production of “Kid Shamrock” at The Atlantic Theater. Ian has taken scene study at HB Studio with Sanford Morris, and soap opera technique with Flo Greenberg, Penny Templeton and Bob Lambert, and commercial acting with Billy Seerow.

Shannon Lower – As a lead-in to her acting career, Shannon has held other roles such as carnival barker, professional Ballroom and Latin dancer, professional Congolese dancer, and a genuine, bonafide comic book character. In the years since, she was lucky enough to study under Gene Frankel and Jason Bennett in NYC. She has performed on stage and film in NYC, L.A. and Europe, with a best actress nomination at the Shockerfest International Film Festival in California for her role in Headhunter: The Assessment Weekend. Her film subHysteria had a successful string of theatrical runs throughout South America and Los Angeles. In theatre, she has performed in numerous productions throughout NYC – most recently as Sonia in Yasmina Reza’s Life X 3 at the historic ACC Theater and in various productions as a founding member of the theater company Ticket 2 Eternity Productions. She is also currently producing her first film, pitching a television concept and developing a graphic novel. She is happy to have absolutely no spare time, whatsoever…. ;)

Peter Wood – Peter Wood was the New York City Golden Gloves Middleweight Finalist in 1971. He represented America by fighting in Canada and in the Maccabian Games in Tel Aviv. He is a playwright whose two plays have been produced. He is an English Teacher at White Plains High School. He is the author of three novels Confessions of a Fighter-Battling Through the Golden Gloves, A Clenched Fist-The Making of a Golden Gloves Champion, (Ringside Books), and To Swallow a Toad. Peter has had his writing published in the New York Times, Commonweal, The Ring, Boxing Illustrated. Peter has been interviewed on television and radio. Among the interviews he has been on ESPN, ABC, WOR, and WFUV. He was the head boxing coach at The Youth Bureau in White Plains, N.Y. Finally Peter Wood the renaissance man is an artist with professional showings.

Mike Brooks- Brooks came into boxing at age sixteen and currently trains in the Westbury Boxing Club in Long Island.”I have aspirations for going all the way with boxing. I want to hold a world title and unify it one day. God gave me the gift of having the drive and being healthy. People don’t realize what they got and I want to make the best out of it. I want to get in there and make the Pacquiao-Mayweather money. I want get in there, win the title, and be the 135-140 pound Marciano.” Mike is a lightweight with a 6-0 record. As Mike said in a recent article.” Bottom line, I stay humble and try my hardest. I’m just rolling with the punches, having fun with this, I’m in a good place right now and hard work pays off. You got to work hard in life to get what you want. Go hard or go home.”

Tommy Rainone – A slick welterweight prospect, Tommy ‘Razor’ Rainone has a 16-4 record as a pro. He was inspired to get into boxing by the “Rocky” movie series. Tommy was a part of the first-ever boxing card at the new Yankee Stadium. He has also fought twice at Madison Square Garden’s theater. Rainone’s amateur career was brief, consisting of approximately 40 fights. In that short span he fought a variety of world class fighters including former welterweight world champion Luis Collazo and light-welterweight contender Francisco “El Gato” Figueroa.

Jake Brodsky- Jake will be attending the French Culinary Institute in the Spring of 2012. Training out of the Westbury P.A.L., Jake a welterweight, competed in the Junior Olympics last year and reached the finals of his division before losing a close fight to a more experienced boxer from the Bronx. “I love the hard work you put in at the gym,” Jake Brodsky says. “I love the way you feel when you get out of the ring after sparring.

Richie Neves- PromisingWelterweight fighter just beginning his pro career.

Stage Manager Raymond Todd – Stage Manager Raymond Todd- is an audio book narrator for Blackstone Audio and Hovel Audio and has narrated more than 60 titles. He is Operating Manager for The Shadow Box Theatre, and he was co-producer and production coordinator for the award winning documentary, Liberty Street: Alive at Ground Zero. He is a spoken word/performance artist with the jazz ensemble Naked Women, and has lead several ensembles as a free jazz trombonist, poet, and toy piano player. He has acted as a stage manager for several Off Broadway productions, and as a First AD on two feature films.

Director Michael Bentt – A modern-day renaissance man, Bentt has excelled in both athletics and the arts. As a fighter, Michael is the former WBO world heavyweight champion, winning the title via first-round knockout of Tommy Morrison on HBO in 1993. He is one of the most decorated amateur fighters in U.S. history, winning four New York Golden Gloves titles and five U.S. national championships. He earned a bronze medal in the 1985 and 1987 World Championships. In 2001, Bentt played the role of Sonny Liston opposite of Will Smith in the Michael Mann-directed, “Ali.” His other film credits include, “Public Enemies,” opposite Johnny Depp and “State Property 2,” opposite Damon Dash. His TV credits include, “Saturday Night Live,” “JAG” and “Sons of Anarchy.” In 2003, he was the first actor-in-residence at Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania, where he played the title role in Othello, The Moor of Venice. Michael has also written about boxing for HBO.com and Bert Sugar’s Fight Game. Kid Shamrock marks Bent’s directorial debut.
Executive Producer, David A. Schuster – David grew up in Bayside, Queens, New York and was a 1977 graduate of Cardozo High School. He received his BA in Communications from University Of South Florida (Tampa) in 1981. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, David was a manufacturer of designer jeans in the garment industry. For the last 10 years he has been involved with investment banking and raising money for different projects and businesses, including independent films. As a result of his life-long interest in both boxing and the cinema he has

formed “Winner Take All Productions.” Among WTA’s first projects was a feature-length documentary on the plight of Cuban boxers. Winner Take All is currently in pre-production for a feature film on Roberto Duran.

Producer, Gary D. Morgan – Gary is an actor/director/producer whose credits include stage, film, television, radio and print media. He is a photojournalist whose work has appeared in national and international publications as well as internet media. Gary directed the World Premier of Kid Shamrock in 2007.

Playwright Bobby Cassidy Jr. – A sportswriter for two decades, Bobby has covered a variety of major sporting events, including the World Series, U.S. Open, Belmont Stakes, Stanley Cup Playoffs and more than 100 world title fights. His work has appeared in Newsday, the New York Post, Time Out NY, ESPN.com and The Ring. He has authored or co-authored four books.In 2006, he directed the documentary short film, “Pride and Passion: Negro Leagues Baseball,” which screened at the Coney Island Film Festival.