By Brian Friel
Directed by Peter DeLaurier

In this New York Drama Critics' Circle Award-winning play, Molly Sweeney leads a full and productive life as a woman with blindness. But her husband Frank can never leave well enough alone. His insistence that she undergo a risky surgery to restore her sight has powerful and unintended consequences. Inspired by Oliver Sacks' essay To See and Not See, legendary Irish playwright Brian Friel tells this gentle tale from the shifting perspectives of Molly, Frank, and the surgeon who values his skills above his patients.

Molly Sweeney was filmed at St. Stephen's Theater in Center City Philadelphia in fall 2020, with strict adherence to all CDC, state, and local health and safety guidelines.

Anthony Lawton as Mr. Rice  •  Ian Merrill Peakes as Frank Sweeney  •  Geneviève Perrier as Molly Sweeney

Nick Embree, Scenic Designer  •  Leigh Ivory Clark Paradise, Costume Designer  •  Janet Embree, Lighting Designer  •  Christopher Colucci, Sound Designer & Original Music  •  Michael P. Toner, Dialect Coach  •  Rebecca Smith, Associate Producer

Molly Sweeney is "a natural for webcasting, though it is not nearly so easy to stage as it looks at first glance. Fortunately, Lantern Theater Company's revival, directed by Peter DeLaurier and taped in an empty theater on a semi-naturalistic set designed by Nick Embree, is so fine as to be worthy of unapologetic comparison with the Irish Rep's 2020 video version, and the members of the cast, Anthony Lawton, Ian Merrill Peakes and Geneviève Perrier, are far more than equal to their challenging parts. Even if you've seen Molly Sweeney produced in the past year, I can wholeheartedly recommend this version. I'd heard good things about the Lantern through the regional-theater grapevine but had never seen any of its shows until now, and I plan to visit them in person as soon as the pandemic is over." –Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal  more

"Beautifully written (playwright Brian Friel was incapable of writing a bad sentence) and acted, it's a reminder that good theater endures." –The Philadelphia Inquirer  more

"Peter DeLaurier's direction seems subtle on the surface, but I came to appreciate how he established different rhythms for each actor, emphasizing the lingering unreliability of three people telling the same shared history from disparate perspectives. Molly Sweeney never suffers from a lack of drama. Perhaps that's because so much of Irish theater, from Shaw to O'Casey to McPherson, boils down to storytelling at its most elemental. DeLaurier and his company understand that, and in turn, they deliver an experience both simple and striking." –Broad Street Review  more

"Impressive... by turns heartrending, whimsical, wryly amusing, and poignant. Molly Sweeney is pretty much ideally served by the streaming format. I've seen the play onstage also, but the intimacy provided here through film close-ups really helps us feel the sense of connection." –Panterre Box  more

"A stunning cooperative effort... Supremely well-acted and thought-provoking production." –Beyond My Backyard  more