The Irish...And How They Got That Way is a video recording of a stage production by Frank McCourt, the celebrated author of Angela's Ashes, at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York. The two-hour-long show features five performers (one of them McCourt's niece) celebrating the Irish-American immigrant experience in word and music against the backdrop of a historical sideshow. Act I recounts British oppression of the Irish, culminating in the Potato Famine and waves of mass immigration to the United States. Act II focuses on the Irish contribution to American society as fighters in the Civil War, martyrs in the labor movement, as entertainers, and as statesmen. Fans of Frank McCourt will appreciate the trademark humor and irreverence that flows throughout, a quality that seems to be the major strength of what would otherwise be a run-of-the-mill performance piece. ~ Connor McMadden, Rovi