When news came yesterday of a "very special announcement from the cast of The Commitments" to be revealed at a press conference in Liberty Hall at 11am, we all knew what they were going to say. Yes, the original cast of the 1991 film adaptation of Roddy Doyle's hilarious novel are getting back together for a 20th anniversary reunion tour.
The whole gang, with the exception of Maria Doyle Kennedy who played backing singer Natalie in the film, are on board. Yep, someone's even convinced Glen Hansard to take time out from his hectic schedule with The Frames and the Swell Season to revisit the character of Outspan. Perhaps he's just really in the mood for 20th anniversaries at the moment. Even Robbit Arkins will be joining the group, despite the fact that his character, Jimmy Rabbitte, was never a performing member of The Commitments, but rather their manager in the film. So in total that's a 10piece band; Andrew Strong, Robert Arkins, Angeline Ball, Bronagh Gallagher, Michael Aherne, Glen Hansard, Felim Gormley, Dave Finnegan, Ken McCluskey and Dick Massey.
The Commitments included classic soul hits such as 'Try A Little Tenderness' and 'Mustang Sally'. The concerts are billed as "full blown soul extravaganzas with songs from the movie and many added extras" so no doubt the band will reprise all their old favourites when they play the following dates in March 2011.
The Royal Theatre, Castlebar - March 14th
The INEC in Killarney - March 15th
The Odyssey, Belfast - March 17th
The O2, Dublin - March 19th
A donation will be made to the Irish Cancer Society for every ticket sold and the cast hope to raise over €30,000 for the charity. Tickets for all concerts will be priced €55.80-€59.80 / £36-£40 including booking fee and will go on sale on Friday October 15th at 9am through Ticketmaster and usual outlets.
