Carrin Beginning Reviews

From the 1999-2000 Riverside Stage Production

“There’s passion, conflict, and moments of poetic insight in Carrin Beginning. It depicts the brief, overnight love affair of a great, brawling woman and a small, crippled man of honeyed speech. Schulenburg’s theme, it would seem, is that nothing lasts, love least of all. But that’s how it should be, for each new encounter is a reaffirmation of life.”
– Irene Backalenick, Backstage

“An absolute joy if you don’t mind the hot spice of violence…the power of Schulenburg’s vision makes for a unique, unforgettable experience”
–CL Online

“Comparisons with Joyce’s story The Dead and its theme of personal epiphany seem appropriate as all the characters in their own complex way at first fight the inevitable realization that they must take responsibility for the direction (or lack thereof) in their lives…both entertaining and thought provoking”
-Gary O ‘Sullivan, The Irish Times

“It’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ all over again, this time with a regional Irish twist and a dash of James Joyce…And then there is the play’s ending, which will not be revealed here.  It is a bit of a surprise and not without dramatic merit. One hint, Turlough is persuaded by Carrin not to leave the pub. His decision to stay sets the stage for an off-beat ending that will keep you thinking for a while. What really is a Carrin’s healing, her new “beginning?” How different is she at the play’s end from her character at the beginning? Schulenburg’s efforts here are worth a look.”
-David Roberts, Theatre Reviews Limited

“A poignant bar play that might have been written back in 1927, when it takes place…a work far more moving than that overpraised piece of Irish kitsch, The Weir…The star of the production remains the playwright, who has not only composed dialogue worth speaking, but songs worth hearing.”
-Stefan Kanfer, The New Leader