Browse By ABC

Man of No Importance, A synopsis



1964. Dublin. In the center is a fellow named Alfie, trying to master the art of theater. Not long ago, Father Kenny disbanded amateur troupe of the main character, named The St. Imelda's Players. It was based in the church, so the holy father had every reason & opportunity to do so. But Alfie, who is the bus conductor, doesn’t care really about the church bans. What is more – the protagonist is having a dream to create a true masterpiece of drama from histrionics Salome, of Oscar Wilde’s authorship.

Thinking about the possible developments of the show, the actor sees his troupe as a Greek choir, performing song that gave the name to this musical. He associates himself with the image of the stella, indicating the right direction to participants. Little by little, a structure of the future creation figures out & he begins to notice the potential leading actors. First of all, we are talking about his sister Lily, beauty-bus driver Robbie & his new friend Adele. For the last one, main character arranges rather atypical hearing. Reading the monologues of the play of Wilde, Adele impresses passengers of the bus, which, incidentally, will also be involved in the musical, only as second-plan actors. Cooking dinner for his sister, Alfie tells her that he had met an extraordinary woman. Lily is very pleased with this news. Some time ago, she had to suspend her relations with Mr. Carney, to have time to take care of her brother. That is why the appearance in his life of a woman gives green light to her personal relationships. However, the man quickly returns sister to the ground, explaining that he does not intend to date Adele, because he experiences to her only creative interest. According to the main character, this woman has all the qualities to play the main role in Salome. Lily is greatly afflicted to hear this & says that Alfie pays his amateur theater too much attention.

The protagonist returns after an evening trip to the bar. On arrival home, he looks in the mirror & instead of seeing his reflection, sees Oscar Wilde. For the director, it is a good sign saying that he is moving in the right direction. After other rehearsals, Lily takes the initiative & invites Adele for Sunday lunch. She says that her brother also wants to see her, but does not dare to say this to her. Once left alone, after the event, Adele says to the main character that in her hometown she has a boyfriend. Then she starts to cry. Hearing such a personal secret, Alfie performs the song Love Who You Love.

The director decides to visit Father Kenny & to confess his sins. Deep in the heart, Alfie feels cravings for Robbie, but cannot admit it aloud. During troupe rehearsal, Adele makes a sensational confession. She reports that she is pregnant & runs way from the hall with tears in her eyes. Parallel to this runs an emergency meeting of the church, where a spectacular Salome called a true manifestation of blasphemy. Monsignor orders to close it immediately & bans a theatrical work of The St. Imelda's Players. In addition, in the finale of the musical, hidden secrets of Alfie pop-up, hidden by him for many years. The main character has to make an important choice: to retreat under the onslaught of problems or, in spite of all the difficulties, to continue to fight for his creation. What will he do? Creators allow each spectator to finish the finale of the musical based on personal sensations & expectations.
Last Update:May, 16th 2016

Man of No Importance, A Lyrics

  1. Act 1
  2. A Man of No Importance
  3. The Burden of Life Lyrics 
  4. Going Up Lyrics 
  5. Princess
  6. First Rehearsal Lyrics 
  7. The Streets of Dublin
  8. Books Lyrics 
  9. Man in the Mirror Lyrics 
  10. Love Who You Love
  11. Act 2
  12. Our Father Lyrics 
  13. Confession
  14. The Cuddles Mary Gave Lyrics 
  15. Art Lyrics 
  16. A Man of No Importance (Reprise) Lyrics 
  17. Love Who You Love (Robbie's Reprise) Lyrics 
  18. Man in the Mirror (Reprise) Lyrics 
  19. Tell Me Why
  20. Love Who You Love (Adele's Reprise) Lyrics 
  21. Welcome to the World Lyrics 
  22. Poem Lyrics 
  23. Love's Never Lost

Popular musicals