Marie Mullen (born 1953) is an Irish actress. She is known for co-founding the Druid Theatre Company, located in Galway, Ireland. She is also known for her performance in the 1998 production of ''

The Beauty Queen of Leenane ''The Beauty Queen of Leenane'' is a 1996 dramatic play by Martin McDonagh which was premiered by the Druid Theatre Company in Galway, Ireland. It also enjoyed successful runs at London's West End, Broadway and Off-Broadway. The original Lo ...

'', for which she received a

Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in a Broad ...

Career

Mullen is from Drumfin, south

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

."On the long hard road of acting for forty years"
''Sligo Champion'', (independent.ie), 13 June 2015 She said that she wanted "to try to be an actor from when I was in secondary school." Garry Hynes recalls meeting Mullen at Dramsoc at UCG in 1971, when they were both 17, and casting her in ''The Loves of Cass Maguire''. She attended

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

studying archaeology. She met Hynes and Mick Lally, and they formed the Druid Theatre Company. As a founding member of Druid Theatre Company, she has appeared in many of their productions, including '' Conversations on a Homecoming'' (1985), and played the role of "Mary" in Tom Murphy's play ''Bailegangaire''. She also originated the role of Maureen in Martin McDonagh's ''The Beauty Queen of Leenane'' (1996). She appeared on Broadway again in ''The Beauty Queen of Leenane'' in 1998, and won the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Actress in a Play. Other productions with Druid include ''Brigit'' and '' The Cripple of Inishmaan''. She appeared

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in ''The Cripple of Inishmaan'' in December 2008, in a co-production of the Druid Theatre Company and the Atlantic Theatre Company. She also played the role of "Mary", and 30 years later in 2014, the role of "Mommo", in Tom Murphy's play ''Bailegangaire'', presented by the Druid Theatre Company at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway. Critic Peter Crawley for ''The Irish Times'' wrote that with Mullen's "astonishing performance comes an amplification of her earlier character’s pain and humour..." and called her performance "transcendental." She also appeared in Tom Murphy's ''Brigit'', presented by the Druid Theatre Company in 2014, as "Mommo", the same character who is depicted in ''Bailegangaire''. Mullen acted in DruidSynge (2006), a theatre production of the complete plays of

John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909), popularly known as J. M. Synge, was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, essayist, and collector of folklores. As an important driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, Ir ...

, performed in the same day, by the Druid Theatre Company in which she played parts in five of the six plays. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reviewer Charles Isherwood wrote: "I should start by mentioning the indispensable contributions of Marie Mullen — the great and glorious Marie Mullen I can’t resist calling her — whom New York theatergoers will remember for her Tony-winning portrayal of the frustrated heroine of 'Beauty Queen.'" In 2007, she performed alongside

James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his extensive work as a character actor, he has received a Primetime Emmy Award as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Babe'' ( ...

in the Druid production of '' Long Day's Journey into Night''. She appeared in ''DruidShakespeare'' at the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

Festival in 2015, directed by Garry Hynes. Mullen played a "sharply etched assortment of men of state." Mullen is set to star as Mrs. Paroo in the upcoming Broadway revival of

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

set to open in 2022.

Film

She appeared in the 1994 film '' Circle of Friends'' as "Mrs. Foley". She appeared in the film '' Hear My Song'' (1991) as "Mickey's Mom".

Awards and nominations

Mullen won the 1998 Tony Award for Best Actress in a play for ''

''. Mullen received the 2012 Alumni Award for arts, social sciences and Celtic studies from NUI Galway. She received the Special Tribute Award at the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards in February 2013, recognizing her "immense contribution to Irish theatre." Mullen received an honorary Doctorate of Arts from her ''alma mater'',

, in June 2016. In 2018 Druid Theatre launched the Marie Mullen Bursary named in her honour. It is open to female dramaturgs, directors and designers.

Personal life

Mullen married Irish actor Seán McGinley in 1990, having first met in 1977; they have two children.O'Rourke, Francis
"First encounters: Marie Mullen and Garry Hynes"
''Irish Times'', 4 May 2013 Her husband has been associated with the Druid Theatre Company many times in the past.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mullen, Marie 1953 births Living people Druid Theatre Company Irish stage actresses 20th-century Irish actresses 21st-century Irish actresses Actors from County Sligo