It's On: On Broadway

The Irish Film Festival arrives this Thursday, November 8th, with actor Aidan Quinn bringing his latest film, Song for a Raggy Boy, to the Brattle Theater. Tickets for the screening, which will be followed by a Q&A with Quinn, are $10 and available at the Brattle Theater box office. And the screening is only the beginning.

The festival, which runs though Sunday, also kicks things off with a Thursday night reception at the Grafton Street Pub in Harvard Square. The reception is free and open to the public.

Other films highlighting this years fest include The Front Line, John Boorman's The Tiger's Tail and Dave McLaughlin's On Broadway.

On Broadway, starring Joey McIntyre, is of particular interest as it was filmed in and around Boston. In a telephone interview prior to the film's premiere at the Independent Film Festival, writer/director Dave McLaughlin expressed admiration for his Boston crew. "They just know how to get things done and do it right. They're confident about what they do, and as a director, it was extremely helpful. Eveyone was terrific."

McLaughlin filmed much of the movie at the Skelling Pub in Waltham, which doubled for one of Somerville's most famous pubs - The Burren. "The story is about these guys, friends, who are tying to get this play off the ground," he says. "They decide that instead of Broadway, they want to preform it in a pub, at The Burren, which has a small stage in the back. In a way, performing it like this, on a small scale, it's more meaningful for them. More pure. It's about everything that goes on to get it done."

On Broadway will screen Saturday, November 10th, at 7pm at the Harvard Film Archive.