Marie Mullen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (age 71–72) |
| Education | NUI Galway |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 daughters |
Marie Mullen (born 1953) is anIrish actress. She is known for co-founding theDruid Theatre Company, located inGalway, Ireland. She is also known for her performance in the 1998 production ofThe Beauty Queen of Leenane, for which she received aTony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Mullen is from Drumfin in the south ofCounty Sligo.[1] She said that she wanted "to try to be an actor from when I was in secondary school."[2]Garry Hynes recalls meeting Mullen at Dramsoc atUCG in 1971, when they were both 17, and casting her inThe Loves of Cass Maguire.[2] She attendedNUI Galway studying archaeology. She met Hynes andMick Lally, and they formed the Druid Theatre Company.[1]
As a founding member of Druid Theatre Company, she has appeared in many of their productions, includingConversations on a Homecoming (1985),[3] and played the role of "Mary" inTom Murphy's playBailegangaire.[4] She also originated the role of Maureen inMartin McDonagh'sThe Beauty Queen of Leenane (1996).[5] She appeared onBroadway again inThe Beauty Queen of Leenane in 1998, and won theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play.[6]
Other productions with Druid includeBrigit andThe Cripple of Inishmaan.[7] She appearedOff-Broadway inThe Cripple of Inishmaan in December 2008, in a co-production of the Druid Theatre Company and the Atlantic Theatre Company.[8] She also played the role of "Mary", and 30 years later in 2014, the role of "Mommo", inTom Murphy's playBailegangaire, presented by the Druid Theatre Company at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway. Critic Peter Crawley forThe Irish Times wrote that with Mullen's "astonishing performance comes an amplification of her earlier character’s pain and humour..." and called her performance "transcendental."[9] She also appeared in Tom Murphy'sBrigit, presented by the Druid Theatre Company in 2014,[10] as "Mommo", the same character who is depicted inBailegangaire.
Mullen acted inDruidSynge (2006), a theatre production of the complete plays ofJohn Millington Synge, performed in the same day, by the Druid Theatre Company in which she played parts in five of the six plays.New York Times reviewer Charles Isherwood wrote: "I should start by mentioning the indispensable contributions of Marie Mullen — the great and glorious Marie Mullen I can’t resist calling her — whom New York theatergoers will remember for her Tony-winning portrayal of the frustrated heroine of 'Beauty Queen.'"[11]
In 2007, she performed alongsideJames Cromwell in the Druid production ofLong Day's Journey into Night. She appeared inDruidShakespeare at theLincoln Center Festival in 2015, directed by Garry Hynes. Mullen played a "sharply etched assortment of men of state."[12]
Mullen is set to star as Mrs. Paroo in the upcoming Broadway revival ofThe Music Man set to open in 2022.[13]
She appeared in the 1994 filmCircle of Friends as "Mrs. Foley".[14] She appeared in the filmHear My Song (1991) as "Mickey's Mom".[15]
Mullen won the1998 Tony Award for Best Actress in a play forThe Beauty Queen of Leenane.[16]
Mullen received the 2012 Alumni Award for arts, social sciences and Celtic studies from NUI Galway.[17]
She received the Special Tribute Award at the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards in February 2013, recognizing her "immense contribution to Irish theatre."[18]
Mullen received an honorary Doctorate of Arts from heralma mater,NUI Galway, in June 2016.
In 2018 Druid Theatre launched the Marie Mullen Bursary named in her honour. It is open to female dramaturgs, directors and designers.[19]
Mullen married Irish actorSeán McGinley in 1990, having first met in 1977;[1] they have two children.[2] Her husband has been associated with the Druid Theatre Company many times in the past.