To judge from the wide success of their respective books, "Angela’s Ashes" and "A Monk Swimming", you don’t have to be Irish to appreciate the wry sense of humor of the Brothers McCourt.
Their gift of gab is very much on display in "A Couple of Blaguards", a two-person autobiographical show that they developed a couple of decades ago when they performed it in various venues.
Each holding a pint in his hand, they arrive onstage toasting Limerick, Ireland. It’s such an historic city, we’re told, that "the favorite word of the Limerick man is ‘was’."
This is in contrast to the favorite word of the Limerick woman: "No!"
The McCourts recall growing up dirt-poor, among other things describing the "great misfortune" of living on a lane where was a single lavatory in a shed, shared by 16 families.
As a Limerick politician says, "Not only should we be building urinals for the men, but we should be constructing arsenals for the women."
While Act One is devoted to the McCourts’ youth in Ireland, the Second concerns their assimilation in New York. Frank arrived first, and he was quickly advised to join the police force: "Above all, be with your own." But, as he sensibly points out, if his goal was to be with his own, he would have remained in Ireland.

By David Kaufman

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