This Week's Spotlight: Donal Lehane

Born in Cork City, Ireland, Donal Lehane has been a Nanuet resident for over five years. Before emigrating to the U.S. he was fortunate to travel the globe living in exotic locations such as Australia and New Zealand. He came to the U.S. in 1995 first living in NYC where he met his wife Jackie, who is from Kildare, Ireland. They moved to Pearl River then eventually settled down in Nanuet where they are raising their two children; Jack, eight and Julia, five.

Both Donal and Jackie are very active in the community. In fact, if you were involved with the Highview Playground, chances are you ran into at least one of them during the site build. And you can be sure to catch them at the Nanuet Little League fields or attending one of the Boy Scout functions throughout the year.

Donal works a full time job during the day, but what is very interesting about this husband and father of two is his passion for acting. He has been acting since he was young, but it was just recently that he made his acting debut in New York.

He is currently rehearsing for a play called "Much Ado about Nothin" at the Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack.

"Derek Tarsen who is the director of the play has given this Shakespearian favorite a new twist by setting the play in the Blue Ridge Mountains just after World War II.  It is full of fun, mischief, song and one of the great romances of the ages: Benedick and Beatrice.  We open on November 18th.  If you like Shakespeare you will love this," said Lehane.

Donal's acting career began in Cork, Ireland when he was quite young.

"My first part was "Henry VIII and his Six Wives" where I played King Henry who
arrives in Heaven and has to explain himself to his six wives. Not a very
memorable debut. However, the play that I remember most from that time was
"A Night Out"  by Harold Pinter.  The lead actor had to drop out and I was
given the role.  Even Pinter's minor plays have a lot to offer and this was
a terrific experience.   At that time, the early 80s, amateur theater was
very strong in Ireland and I remember driving the back roads of Sligo to
perform in the All Ireland One Act Festival."

While in Cork he had the opportunity to get roles at the Everyman Theater, a well known theater offering noteable hands-on experience both on stage and backstage. 

"My first major role I had there was in "Drama at Innish" by Lennox Robinson, which was directed by the wonderful Don McMullen.  The other role I really enjoyed at that time was Willie O'Shea in "Barrack Street" by Peter Dineen.  We rehearsed this play in ten days and although the critics were not very kind we had a lot of fun. In the mid-80s I went to work with the Cork Theater Company and had roles in "Volunteers" by Brian Friel which played in the Dublin Theater
Festival and subsequently went on tour in Ireland.  I also played the lead
in "The Saint and Mary-Kate" and toured with "The Whiteheaded Boy".  The
play I enjoyed the most at CTC was "A Low Tide for Dream" a memory play set
in Cork in 1950s."

With his acting career building, Donal decided to go to school for formal training. He enrolled in the Poor School in Kings Cross, London. Here he was able to be a part of productions by such great playwrights as Chekhov, Williams, Ibsen and Shakespeare.

As life forged on, acting was still in his heart but between travelling, starting a family and settling into a new community, it got put on hold.

"Jackie had never seen me act and encouraged me to audition for a play at
the Antrim Players.  The play was "Pack of Lies" by Hugh Whitemore and
directed by Nancy Healy. I played the part of  Stewart, a secret service agent."

As the saying goes, 'that's all she wrote'. Donal Lehane's acting career is back in business.

"It was wonderful to be back on stage after being off it for over ten years."

Donal then went on to audition for the current play he is rehearsing for "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Elmwood Playhouse.  He got the part of Don Pedro, who acts in a contriving role between Benedick and the Lady Beatrice.

Working a full time job, juggling his children's after school activities, plus rehearsing four nights a week isn't easy but his commitment to the performing arts is unrelenting. It also helps that his family backs his love of acting and has been very supportive of him.

Make a night of it, grab a neighbor and come out and support this local actor's current role as Don Pedro in "Much Ado About Nothin". The show runs from November 18-December 10. You can purchase tickets online through Elmwood Playhouse website or call (845) 353-1313.

Break a leg Donal!