ARTS ALIVE! St. Pete Catalyst's Bill DeYoung & Stars of Himself and Nora @freeFALL

The current show at St. Petersburg’s freeFall Theatre is Jonathan Brielle’s Himself and Nora running through March 8. It’s a musical about the iconic Irish novelist James Joyce (1882-1941) and the intimate yet tempestuous relationship he had with his wife, Nora Barnacle. Joining Bill today in the Arts Alive! podcast studio are Robert Teasdale (Joyce) and Katie Davis (Nora), who discuss the play, the dynamic between the long-ago Irish lovers, and the process by which director Eric Davis (no relation) and musical director Michael Raabe pulled the powerful production together.  Himself and Nora also stars Michael Gregory, Julia Rifino and Drew H. Wells, each in multiple roles, but at day’s end it’s all about “Jimmy” and Nora. Many subjects are tackled, including the Catholic church and its effects on the free-thinking Joyces, the moral standards of the era (Joyce’s controversial epic Ulysess can’t find an American publisher), alcoholism and adultery.