Susan Hefner & Dancers From 1990 to 1994, Molloy authored libretto for numerous dance pieces by Susan Hefner & Dancers, including
Attempted Flight at
Judson Memorial Church,
Marrow Clamor at One Dream Theater TriBeCa,
Eve of Consumption at
Theatre Row, and
Unruly Graces at
Dia Chelsea. In a 1993 interview with
The Morning Call, Molloy discussed authoring the libretto for the later piece while in residency at
Millay Arts and
Smith College.
Unruly Graces consists of 11 scenes, composed of dance and verse.
Jennifer Dunning, in a review for
The New York Times noted, {{Blockquote Susan Hefner & Dancers have continued to perform versions of these pieces and others around the world.
Maiden Voyages Maiden Voyages was first developed at the
Royal Court Theatre's International Playwrights Group Residency in
London, England in 1990.
Maiden Voyages was first produced by the Drama Department at the
University of Kent in March of 1991. Based on Molloy's real-life friend Bronagh Murphy, the play depicts an Irish midwife working in a Dublin maternity ward.
Maiden Voyages was later produced
Off-Broadway by
New Georges at
Theatre Row in May of 1993. The production was directed Jessica Bauman, and featured an ensemble of Susan Bernfield, Tobi Brydon, Robin Howard,
Susan McKeown, Colleen McQuade, Bronagh Murphy,
Marian Quinn, and Caroline Winterson. In October of 2008, a new version of
Maiden Voyages had a limited engagement at the
Liberty Hall Theatre in
Dublin, Ireland where it enjoyed a sold out run.
The Irish Times later noted “
Maiden Voyages was well received… With Murphy’s finely tuned ear for naturalistic dialogue allied to Molloy’s poetic lyricism and concern for social justice, they’ve created a powerful, grittily humorous, and deeply moving account of the lives of five very different Dublin women, all in the throes of labour pains.” In 2010
Maiden Voyages received a special staged reading with Working Theater as part of the company 25th anniversary celebration.
Rehearsing the Granda as part of
JoAnne Akalaitis' Special Projects Series.
Rehearsing the Granda had a workshop production at the
Laurie Beechman Theatre in February 1990. The play subsequently premiered
Off-Broadway at
The Public Theater as part of
JoAnne Akalaitis' "Special Projects Series" in February 1992. Julie Nichols directed the production. Later that same year, the play had an additional limited engagement at
Theatre Row.
Rehearsing the Granda was included in
The Best Plays Theater Yearbook of 1991–1992.
Sticky n Juicy on da Senate Floor Sticky n Juicy on da Senate Floor had its world premiere at
AS220 in
Providence, RI in March 1990. The play subsequently premiered
Off-Broadway at
The Public Theater as part of
JoAnne Akalaitis' "Special Projects Series" in June 1992. The production was directed by
Jimbo Flynn, and featured Molloy and Donna Villella in the titular roles.
Sticky and Juicy on da Senate Floor was later included in
The Best Plays Theater Yearbook of 1991–1992. The following year,
Sticky n Juicy on da Senate Floor had a subsequent run at
WOW Café, produced as a
curtain raiser for
Kurt Schwitters'
Causes and Outbreak of the Great and Glorious Revolution in Revon.
Tongues of Stone Tongues of Stone was first commissioned through a
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1993, selected as one of 13 honorees out of 182 applicants awarded $260,000 by the federal agency. The play is a comedy-drama about the early stages of the anti-abortion movement, lampooning political figures like
Jesse Helms.
Tongues of Stone was later developed by both
Lincoln Center Theatre and
The Royal Court Theatre as part of the
Audrey Skirball-Kenis Playwright Exchange. The play had a workshop production with
New Georges at the
Workhouse Theatre in April 1994. In a 1995 interview with
Lesbians on the Loose, Molloy expressed difficulty in finding a home for play, stating, Later that same year,
Tongues of Stone had its word premiere at the
Belvoir Street Theatre in
Sydney,
Australia, programmed as part of the
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival. The production was directed by Sarah Carradine and featured an ensemble of Josie Dobrowska, Maeve Germaine,
Rachael Maza Long,
Janice Oxenbould,
Mary Regan, and Jennifer Vuletic. James Waites, in a review for
The Sydney Morning Herald noted, "The women’s parts are richly characterised, the scenes are well constructed, and the dialogue artfully crafted to the level of poetry. A talented cast under Carradine’s direction adds further flesh. It’s a thoughtful production, with plenty of attention to detail."
Snapshot Snapshot, a multi-author project from the
Actors Theatre of Louisville premiered as part of the 26th annual
Humana Festival of New American Plays, which ran from March 3 – April 13, 2002. Within
Snapshot, Molloy's one-act play
Monument tells the story of two emergency telephone operators navigating a terrifying series of calls on Tuesday morning,
September 11, 2001. The production was directed by Russell Vadenbroucke and featured an ensemble of Jake Goodman and Ellie Clark. The creative team included Paul Owen (scenic design), John White (costume design), Tony Penna (lighting design), Colbert Davis (sound design), and Doc Manning (props). In a review from
Booklist, Jack Helbig noted "Louisville's annual Humana Festival is famous as a showcase for new plays and playwrights. The 2002 festival included new works by such big guns as
Anne Bogart,
Tina Howe,
Julia Jordan,
Charles L. Mee, and
Adam Rapp, while emerging playwrights were relegated to Humana's National One-Act Play Contest... Of these, Honor Molloy's moving meditation on 9/11 is the most haunting."
Snapshot was later published by
Playscripts Inc., and has been licensed for production over 100 times at theatres and universities across the
United States,
Canada, and
India.
Madame Killer Madame Killer is a "gothic noir" about
Ann Lohman, a British-born, American abortion provider in 19th century New York City. The play was first developed in 1997 by
The American Place Theatre. Later that same year, the play had a workshop production with
The Playwrights' Center in
Minneapolis, Minnesota while Molloy was a Playwright-in-Residence. From 2001 to 2003
Madame Killer was selected for further developmental readings with The Working Theatre,
New Dramatists, and the
92nd Street Y's Makor Theater Project, featuring
Marsha Mason in the titular role.
Madame Killer had a workshop production with
Clubbed Thumbs' Summerworks, in 2005. The production was directed by Wier Harman, and featured an ensemble of
Marsha Stephanie Blake,
Aedin Moloney, Maria Porter, Jonathan Rose, Mark Shanahan, and Melinda Wade. A version of
Madame Killer was subsequently published by
TheatreForum in 2007.
In Pigeon House In Pigeon House was first authored through a
New York State Council on the Arts Playwriting Commission. The play had developmental readings with
New Dramatists in 2001, and
American Theater Company in 2002. Later that same year, the play had a developmental workshop at the
Irish Repertory Theatre.
In Pigeon House premiered ten years later at the
Irish Theatre of Chicago in 2012. The production was directed by Brian Shaw and featured an ensemble of Ira Amyx, Katherine Schwartz, Barbara Figgins, and John Mossman. The play fuses
vaudeville,
music hall, and
early cinema into a nostalgic homage to the era of traveling shows. The play is inspired by the "fit-ups"—itinerant theatre troupes that crisscrossed rural Ireland during the first half of the twentieth century. For farmers and villagers hungry for cultural experiences, these homegrown companies were a cherished lifeline to the arts. From their talented ensembles emerged renowned actors like
Cyril Cusack and
Milo O'Shea. Among them was John Molloy, whose journey began in the fit-ups and later led him to national recognition as a star of
Tolka Row, Ireland's first
primetime drama. The production received mostly positive reviews from critics, with Tony Adler of
The Chicago Reader noting "In Pigeon House is ultimately a tribute to the spirit of stage play through the generations. I'm sure I'd have caught a lot more if I were Irish, but patience is rewarded here by Molloy's cunning and surreal sensibility—channeling a whole slew of Irish bards, from
Beckett to
Martin McDonagh and
Enda Walsh—and by the fit-upish elan of The Irish Theatre of Chicago's own cast of artistes under the direction of Brian Shaw." An excerpt of
In Pigeon House was published in an anthology of plays entitled
Take Ten II by
Alfred A. Knopf.
Smarty Girl: Dublin Savage , c. 2012. Molloy's debut novel and accompanying audiobook,
Smarty Girl: Dublin Savage was published by
Simon & Schuster in 2012, and is distributed internationally through
Audible. The voice cast includes Molloy, Kevin Holohan,
Aedin Moloney, and
Susan McKeown. The semi-autobiographical novel is set in 1960s Ireland and "depicts the turbulent life of the O'Feeney family, seen through the eyes of youngest daughter, Noleen". In a review for
The Irish Voice, Cahir O'Doherty said "
Smarty Girl: Dublin Savage is a lighthouse intelligence that doesn't miss a stitch... Many Irish books will be released this year, but few will be this candid or this complete."
Crackskull Row Crackskull Row was first developed at the
Inishbofin Arts Festival in 2000. The following year, the play had a workshop production at
New Dramatists. More than a decade later,
Crackskull Row was included on the 2015 edition of ''
The Kilroys' List'', a
gender parity initiative designed to end the "systematic underrepresentation of female and trans playwrights" in the American theater industry. The play premiered
Off-Broadway the following year at
The Cell Theatre, directed by Kira Simring, and featuring an ensemble of
Gina Costigan,
Colin Lane, Terry Donnelly, and Charles McLaughlin. The production received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Molloy's writing, Simring's direction, and the ensemble of actors. Andy Webster of
The New York Times deemed
Crackskull Row a "Critic's Pick."
Building Pain Building Pain is a multi-author project commissioned by Origin Theatre Company in celebration of the company's 10 anniversary of their 1st Irish Theatre Festival. Written by Honor Molloy, Sarah Street,
Brenda Meaney,
Geraldine Hughes, and Lisa Tierney-Keogh, the piece took inspiration from
Patrick Radden Keefe's 2017 expose on the
Sackler family, entitled "
An Empire of Pain," originally published in
The New Yorker. The site-specific production was produced in January of 2018 by Origin Theatre Company in association with Shea Delves Productions at Bloom's Tavern in
Turtle Bay, Manhattan. Directed by Rory McGregor, the cast featured Shane Allen,
Orlagh Cassidy,
Lucy DeVito, and
Catherine Eaton.
Building Pain was nominated in four categories at the 2018 1st Irish Theatre Festival Awards, including Best Playwright, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Design. ==Personal life==