It’s the time of year when winter gives way to spring, college basketball takes center stage, and everything turns a bit green for St. Patrick’s Day.

As the Guinness and green beer flows, David Rousculp has been working on a different St. Paddy’s tradition: Flanagan’s Wake.

The biannual tradition of staging this interactive, comedic play, which began in 2020, takes place at Harper’s Community Funeral Home in New Haven. 

This year’s show opens Friday, March 8, taking place over two weekends, with the final show being on St. Patrick’s Day.

With the finale being on the holiday, it’s advisable to get your ticket in advance.

“I thought nobody would come on a Sunday night,” said Rousculp, who along with being the show’s director is the funeral home’s general manager, funeral director, and embalmer. “I thought we’d have a few people, but that’s one of our bigger sellers. I don’t know why. Now, with Sunday night being one of our bigger nights and it being St. Paddy’s Day, I’m sure it will sell out.”

Returnees and Newbies

Flanagan’s Wake is set in an Irish funeral home where mourners recall tales of their fallen friend and family member. 

Along the way, there’s the grieving Mother Flanagan and fiancée Fiona Finn, played by Chuck Fenwick and Ruth Fearnow, respectively. You’ll also hear a eulogy by Mickey Finn (Colton Easterday) and tales from Father Damon Fitzgerald (Scott McMeen), Kathleen Mooney (Teresa Rust), and Brian Ballybunion (Shawn McCarthy), as Mayor Martin O’Doul (David Hill) and Peter Klopfenstein handles piano duties.

This will be McMeen’s third time taking on the role of the pastor.

“He really just blows it out the park,” Rousculp said of McMeen. “He’s just so good.”

Rust also took part in the 2022 production, and Fearnow returns after the March 2020 run was cut short due to, well you can guess why.

With the show relying heavily on improv, Rousculp is pleased to have Easterday and McCarthy on board since both are experienced thanks to their work with the recurring The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Show at Courtyard by Marriott.

Among the newcomers is Hill, a former attendee that wanted to get in on the action.

“He saw the show last time and said he wanted to be in it,” Rousculp said. “I said, ‘OK, you’ll be the mayor.’ ”

Audience participation

The cast have been busy rehearsing for the show, but they can’t be too stringent. Over the course of the show, attendees are asked questions that steer the direction of the show.

“Every show is different because the audience decides how (Flanagan) died,” said Rousculp, although that is not the only thing the audience decides.

“It’s tough. There’s seven or eight pieces that people are going to give you to tell the story, like, ‘Inside the wall there was a what?’ ‘A mouse.’ ‘OK, what was the name of the mouse?’ ‘OK, so we had to take Martin the Mouse to where?’ He has to remember all these things people are throwing at him and get back to the beginning of what the story is about. It’s mind boggling.”

Along with attendees throwing out suggestions, some will be called on to participate, such as this article’s writer, who was called upon to sing “Danny Boy” in 2022.

“We do try to get a few people ahead of time,” Rousculp said of recruiting audience members to leave the shadows and step into the light. “There’s a point where a person is brought up to kiss Mother, and they try to find someone who will do that. They try to find somebody ahead of time that will sing ‘Danny Boy.’ Believe it or not, there are plenty of hams begging to do it.”

Helping veterans

In the end, it’s all about having a good time. On top of having some laughs, the cost of your ticket goes to a good cause, local nonprofit The Shepherd’s House, a long-term residential and transitional housing center for veterans battling addiction.

“I’m a fan of anything to do with veterans,” Rousculp said, noting the 2022 show led to a $6,000 donation. “When I found out about Shepherd’s House, I fell in love with their mission to help veterans in need.”

Along with ticket sales, money raised from the cash bar is also donated.

“The prices are strong. They’re not baseball park strong, but they’re strong,” Rousculp said. “Still, people buy. I’d say a big portion of that $6,000 we donated last time was probably from the pub.”

Although there will be drinks available, Rousculp is adamant that is not the focus of this St. Patrick’s celebration.

“The reason I did this, is being Irish, does that mean, ‘Gee, do I go out and get drunk every day?’ It was like, let’s find something else to focus on,” he said, noting a recent DNA test revealed he’s 85 percent Irish. “The focus is more on, let’s celebrate being Irish and let’s have fun and make this a tradition of something we go do every other year.”