Saturday night’s show was attended by Claude Michel Schönberg, who wrote the music for the show. He has also penned such classics as Lés Miserábles and Miss Saigon

Mr Schönberg took to the stage at the end of the show, and in an emotion-charged moment, heaped lavish praise on the production. He was amazed by the fact that all on stage did so ‘purely for the love of the music.’ He said this love transmitted itself throughout the show. He was also complimentary about the fact that the Society repeats this huge effort year after year, and said he would love to attend a future show in Ballinrobe

Mr Schönberg then went backstage to meet with the cast and production team. He was again unstinting in his praise, and emotions again ran high as he spoke of his joy at seeing his music treated with such love and reverence.

Society chairman Pat McGovern replied on behalf of the Society, and thanked Mr Schönberg for The Pirate Queen, which work Ballinrobe Musical Society will never forget.

Saturday night’s show was also attended by executives from Riverdance – Riverdance creators John McColgan and Moya Doherty were the ones who brought The Pirate Queen to Broadway

The show is now sold out for the remaining six nights already – 5,000 people will see the show

Spontaneous standing ovations on all four nights to date

Many patrons are availing of the special package available in local restaurants – dinner, a free programme of the show, and onto the Auditorium in Ballinrobe Community School

About The Pirate Queen

The Pirate Queen, which tells the story of Mayo’s western warrior Grace O’Malley, features music by Alan Boublil and Claude Michel Schönberg, who penned such classics as Lés Miserábles and Miss Saigon.

Ballinrobe Musical Society chairman Pat McGovern said that Grace O’Malley remained one of the most fascinating figures of Irish history. “Under-celebrated,” he said, “she was a wild, unyielding spirit who defended her country and its traditions, defied an empire and set herself against and conventions of society and the role it prescribed for women”.

The show is being staged in association with Irish Pride, a national company with a local presence stretching over many decades.

“We have people coming from every county in Ireland. We have never had interest like this, and even though we have our first-ever ten-night run this year, we are already looking at the remaining shows being sold out,” said Society chairman Pat McGovern.

“We are very grateful to our premier sponsors Irish Pride, who have been extremely supportive. Our corporate sponsors 3, Tesco, Ashford Castle, and McHale’s Farm Machinery have also come in very strongly behind us. We are very appreciative of the support we have received from all our sponsors.”

More details on the show are available on www.BallinrobeMusicalSociety.com.