HOME IS THE HERO: A Play in Two Acts

by Walter Macken ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 24, 1953

A record run of the Abbey Players in Dublin- selection for a London run at the time of the Coronation this Spring- choice as a Fall, offering of the Theatre Guild for next Fall combine to give this play in book form an unusually good send-off.... The title has a cynical flavor, as the reader soon discovers when the returned ""hero"" is Paddo O'Reilly, coming back after serving five years in jail for accidentally killing a man. The wife and the neighbors plan a gala welcome; the crippled shoemaker son, who has borne the brunt of supporting the household- and the fly daughter Josie, hungry for a good time, are sceptical, as well they may be. For Paddo has grown hard and bitter; his determination to prove he is head of the household and will have none of the pandering planned for his homecoming bears bitter fruit. And, with everything in ruins around him, Paddo turns his back on home, with a speech that gives one a flicker of sympathy for him, and sets off to find his liberty alone. Macken has a rare gift for the emotional values- the apt turn of phrase. Even the dialect proves no hurdle as the reader is caught up in the lilt of the speech.... The play reading market -away from the eastern cities- will relish it if they can cope with the unfamiliarity of the language.

Pub Date: April 24, 1953

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1953

Categories: NONFICTION