Juno at the City Center (Not That Juno)

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By Gillian Reagan

March 7, 2008 | 11:28 a.m.

Juno is coming to the New York City stage! But, honest to blog, it's not Diablo Cody's Juno, it's the 1924 play by Sean O'Casey. Juno and the Paycock, which was adapted into a 1930 Hitchcock movie, is about a mom in 1920s Dublin who is struggling with an alcoholic husband and turbulent political times. As FilmStew.com notes, in what is either a misguided move or a shrewdly calculated attempt to sell tickets, that title has now been shortened to simply Juno for an upcoming March 27 – 30 run at New York's City Center.

The last time this Juno was staged in New York was in 1959, when it ran for 16 performances with Melvyn Douglas and Shirley Booth on the boards. Despite the now familiar name recognition, the producers of this latest staging have perhaps wisely learned their lesson, as their run is only scheduled to offer up five showings.

In terms of Diablo Cody-style girl power, perhaps the most potent corner in this case is that of director Garry Hynes. You might think that such a name goes with a crusty old male veteran of the New York theater scene. But in fact, he's a woman, the first woman to ever win a Tony Award for directing, back in 1998, for her treatment of Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane.