''Kid Shamrock'' is the Off Broadway play based on the life of former world rated

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, "Irish"

Bobby Cassidy Bobby Cassidy, born April 19, 1944, is a former professional boxer who fought from 1963 to 1980. Although born and raised in New York, Cassidy is of Irish lineage and fought under the name, "Irish" Bobby Cassidy. Cassidy was a southpaw (left-hand ...

. The story tells of Cassidy's struggle and subsequent triumph over

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

. Cassidy lost a fight to Jorge Ahumada on the undercard of the second Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight at Madison Square Garden. The Irish light heavyweight spent more time drinking than training for that fight, the biggest of his career. Cassidy turned the biggest loss of his career into a victory by quitting the bottle. He has not had a drink since April 1974. That night at the Garden is the basis for the play. The play was written by Cassidy's older son, Bobby Cassidy Jr. There have been four productions of Kid Shamrock since 2007.

Description

The calling card of the play is its authenticity. Numerous professional boxers have been cast throughout the production. Seamus McDonagh, who fought

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...

in 1990, has held the title role since the play's debut in 2007. Other professional boxers who have appeared in the play include,

John Duddy John Francis Duddy (born 19 June 1979) is an Irish actor and former professional boxer who fought from 2003 to 2010. He challenged once for the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title, losing in his final fight to Julio César Chávez Jr.

, Mark McPherson,

Tommy Rainone Tommy Rainone (born January 8, 1980) is an American professional boxer. Early life Rainone's love affair with boxing began at the age of seven. After watching Rocky for the first time, the Plainview, NY, Plainview Long Island native began to ...

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

ist and WBA

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

champion Mark Breland, WBO junior welterweight champion

Christopher Algieri Christopher Mark Algieri (born March 2, 1984) is an American professional boxer and former kickboxer. In boxing he held the WBO junior welterweight title in 2014 and challenged for the WBO welterweight title later that year; in kickboxing he wa ...

and five-time world champion

Junior Jones Junior Jones (born December 20, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2002. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight title from 1993 to 1994 an ...

. Cassidy Sr. serves as the play's narrator. The referee for the play's boxing scenes have always been real

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

s. Wayne Kelly, who officiated more than 50 world title fights, held the role of referee until his passing in 2012. Ian McGrady understudied Wayne Kelly at the Atlantic Theater II production, and carried the dual roles of "Referee" and "Bartender" to the TADA Theater production. Arthur Mercante Jr., himself a ref in dozens of title fights, took over the role in August 2012. Michael Bentt, the former WBO

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

champion, has been the play's director for the last two productions. Bentt starred as Sonny Liston opposite Will Smith in the 2001 film, "Ali." The last two runs of Kid Shamrock have been executive produced by David Schuster. In August 2012, Schuster and boxing promoter Bob Duffy teamed to produce, "Shamrock in the Park," an outdoor presentation of the play that was followed by a nine-bout professional

boxing card In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

. Professional boxer Richie Neves acted in the play and later that evening won a six-round decision on the boxing card. Mercante Jr. also performed in the play and refereed the live fights that followed. Patrick Joseph Connolly and Vinny Vella, both of whom appeared in

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

, are veteran Kid Shamrock cast members.

Productions

* Kid Shamrock, June 2007, The Producer's Club, NYC, directed by Gary Morgan * Kid Shamrock, February 2011, Atlantic Theater Company, NYC, directed by James Smallhorne * Kid Shamrock, November 2011, TADA Theater, NYC, directed by Michael Bentt * Shamrock in the Park, August 2012, Franklin Square, Long Island, directed by Michael Bentt

References

{{Reflist * ESPN Article - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/boxing/post/_/id/564/plug-alert-kid-shamrock-opens-on-nov-25 * Boxing.com article - http://www.boxing.com/father_fighter_and_play.html * Review by George Kimball - http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles/11997-duddy-a-winner-in-qkid-shamrockq-new-play-written-by-bobby-cassidy-jr * NY Daily News article - http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/kid-shamrock-hits-broadway-article-1.222660 * Levittown Tribune article - https://archive.today/20130116234930/http://www.antonnews.com/levittowntribune/57-levittownsports/24424-shamrock-in-the-park-at-plattduetsche-park-august-11.html * BoxingNews24 story on Shamrock in the Park - http://www.boxingnews24.com/2012/08/brooks-serrano-win-belts-at-boxing-block-party/ Off-Broadway plays 2007 plays