Kid Shamrock

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Kid Shamrock is the Off Broadway play based on the life of former world rated boxer, "Irish" Bobby Cassidy.

Boxing combat sport

Boxing is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves, throw punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time in a boxing ring.

Bobby Cassidy, born April 19, 1944, is a former professional boxer who fought from 1963 to 1980. Although born and raised in New York, Cassidy is of Irish lineage and fought under the name, "Irish" Bobby Cassidy.

Contents

The story tells of Cassidy's struggle and subsequent triumph over alcohol. Cassidy lost a fight to Jorge Ahumada on the undercard of the second Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight at Madison Square Garden. The Irish light heavyweight spent more time drinking than training for that fight, the biggest of his career. Cassidy turned the biggest loss of his career into a victory by quitting the bottle. He has not had a drink since April 1974. That night at the Garden is the basis for the play.

Alcoholism broad term for problems with alcohol

Alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder (AUD), is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in mental or physical health problems. The disorder was previously divided into two types: alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. In a medical context, alcoholism is said to exist when two or more of the following conditions are present: a person drinks large amounts over a long time period, has difficulty cutting down, acquiring and drinking alcohol takes up a great deal of time, alcohol is strongly desired, usage results in not fulfilling responsibilities, usage results in social problems, usage results in health problems, usage results in risky situations, withdrawal occurs when stopping, and alcohol tolerance has occurred with use. Risky situations include drinking and driving or having unsafe sex, among other things. Alcohol use can affect all parts of the body, but it particularly affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas and immune system. This can result in mental illness, Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome, irregular heartbeat, liver cirrhosis and increased cancer risk, among other diseases. Drinking during pregnancy can cause damage to the baby resulting in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Women are generally more sensitive than men to the harmful physical and mental effects of alcohol.

The play was written by Cassidy's older son, Bobby Cassidy Jr. There have been four productions of Kid Shamrock since 2007.

Description

The calling card of the play is its authenticity. Numerous professional boxers have been cast throughout the production. Seamus McDonagh, who fought Evander Holyfield in 1990, has held the title role since the play's debut in 2007. Other professional boxers who have appeared in the play include, John Duddy, Mark McPherson, Tommy Rainone, Olympic gold medalist and WBA welterweight champion Mark Breland, WBO junior welterweight champion Christopher Algieri and five-time world champion Junior Jones. Cassidy Sr. serves as the play's narrator.

Seamus McDonagh is a retired professional boxer who currently works as an actor, screenwriter and filmmaker.

Evander Holyfield American boxer

Evander Holyfield is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and remains the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes. Nicknamed "The Real Deal", Holyfield is the only four-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titles from 1990 to 1992; the WBA and IBF titles again from 1993 to 1994 and between 1996 and 1999; and the WBA title for a fourth time from 2000 to 2001.

John Francis Duddy is an Irish actor and former professional boxer who fought from 2003 to 2010. He challenged once for the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title, losing in his final fight to Julio César Chávez Jr.

The referee for the play's boxing scenes have always been real referees. Wayne Kelly, who officiated more than 50 world title fights, held the role of referee until his passing in 2012. Ian McGrady understudied Wayne Kelly at the Atlantic Theater II production, and carried the dual roles of "Referee" and "Bartender" to the TADA Theater production. Arthur Mercante Jr., himself a ref in dozens of title fights, took over the role in August 2012.

Referee person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view

A referee or simply ref is the person of authority in a variety of sports who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on-the-fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known, in addition to referee, by a variety of other titles as well, including umpire, judge, arbiter, arbitrator, linesman, commissaire, timekeeper, touch judge or Technical Official.

Michael Bentt, the former WBO heavyweight champion, has been the play's director for the last two productions. Bentt starred as Sonny Liston opposite Will Smith in the 2001 film, "Ali." The last two runs of Kid Shamrock have been executive produced by David Schuster.

Michael Bentt American boxer

Michael Bentt is a British-American film and television actor, and former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 1994. Of Jamaican heritage, he was born in East Dulwich, London, but raised in the Cambria Heights section of Queens in New York City. Bentt won the WBO heavyweight title from Tommy Morrison in 1993, losing the title in his first defense in 1994 to Herbie Hide. As an amateur he won bronze medals at the 1986 World Championships and 1987 Pan American Games.

Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports.

In August 2012, Schuster and boxing promoter Bob Duffy teamed to produce, "Shamrock in the Park," an outdoor presentation of the play that was followed by a nine-bout professional boxing card. Professional boxer Richie Neves acted in the play and later that evening won a six-round decision on the boxing card.

Mercante Jr. also performed in the play and refereed the live fights that followed.

Patrick Joseph Connolly and Vinny Vella, both of whom appeared in The Sopranos, are veteran Kid Shamrock cast members.

Productions

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