"First-rate theatre."
--Washington Post
"You change my life each time I see you."
-Liv Ullmann, Actor
"I so enjoyed listening to you tell tales from the big house on Cumberland Ave. It brought back my own youth on Pill Hill and my adventures on the Muddy River and playing Kick the Can until the sun went down on hot summer nights. You weave a magical spell for all to hear."
-Jane Alexander, Actor
"Dickensian juiciness."
-Seattle Times
"The . . audience hangs on every word, sound, and gesture of the storyteller onstage. As Jay O'Callahan spins a tale . . . we feel connected not only to him but also to our fellow listeners. Under his spell, we wait, gasp, and exhale as one.
-Ellen Albanese, Boston Globe
"O'Callahan's performance dispelled my prejudice (about storytelling) because he tells stories that are mature, dramatic and enthralling experiences. . . . he's a one-man stage production."
-Bob Goepfert, The Record
"A man of elegance, wit and poetry."
-Time Magazine
"A Trumph"
-Buffalo News
[The Labyrinth of Uncle Mark] "Jay O'Callahan has written and performs a solo theatrical miracle. It is as if he plumbed the emotional DNA of our family dynamics and presents it to us in a singularly gorgeous package. It could be Hamlet re-born into a 20th century Irish American family.
At once contemporary and Shakespearean, it is both funny and deeply tragic, as each character in this family saga emerges as a multi-dimensional individual yet universal and beloved.
In the best sense it is an oxymoronic experience: particular and universal, uplifting and tragic. You will never forget Uncle Mark and the luminous images Jay weaves through this play will remain with you in the best traditions of a great theatrical experience.
-Samm Carleton, Choreographer
Notable Venues
Abbey Theatre, Dublin
Boston Symphony Hall
Chattanooga Theatre Center
Coolidge Theatre
Firehouse Theatre
Glistening Waters Storytelling Festival, New Zealand
Gloucester Stage Company
Lincoln Center
Merrimack Repertory Theatre
National Theatre Complex, London
Orpheum Theatre
Pontine Theatre
Scottish International Storytelling Festival, Edinburg, Scotland
Stage West Theatre
Touchstone Theatre
Town Hall, New York City