Class Notes: Alana Raquel Bowers “The Loved Ones”

Summary

BroadwayRadio: Class Notes — Alana Raquel Bowers on “The Loved Ones”

Release Date: July 10, 2026
Host: Lauren Clash Schneider
Guest: Alana Raquel Bowers (plays Gabby in “The Loved Ones” at Irish Repertory Theatre)

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Episode Overview

This episode of BroadwayRadio’s “Class Notes” features a heartfelt conversation between Lauren Clash Schneider and actress Alana Raquel Bowers, who stars as Gabby in the new Irish play “The Loved Ones” at Irish Repertory Theatre. The discussion explores the play’s central themes of grief, family, and found community, the creative process behind the piece, Bowers’s personal journey with the role, and the unique makeup of the cast and creative team.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Origin and Universality of “The Loved Ones”

• Playwright’s Vision:
  • Although the cast hasn’t interacted extensively with playwright Erika Murray, they met via Zoom during Irish Rep’s 2025 New Works Fall Festival. Murray shared insights into her inspiration, particularly regarding grief, loss, and motherhood.
  • Alana Raquel Bowers (03:21):
    “Hearing her journey, knowing that we all, you know, will or eventually have some sort of connection to grief in some way, it allowed me to realize how universal this play is and can be… All of us, both as artists in the machine, in the piece, and also characters in the play, have this universal sort of stew that we all add to with our own individual isms.”
• Universality Across Backgrounds:
  • Bowers, an American from Baltimore, plays a British Black woman from Lewisham. She underscores the cross-cultural resonance of grief and finding community.

Plot, Setting, and Gabby’s Role

• Play’s Premise:

  • Set in a remote Irish farmhouse, the plot centers on Nell (preparing to scatter her late son’s ashes), his grieving wife, an American tourist, and Gabby—whose arrival as an uninvited guest disrupts the weekend’s plans.
  • Lauren Clash Schneider (04:11):
    “When a young woman unexpectedly turns up at the cottage, the weekend takes a surprising and darkly comic turn. Tensions rise, secrets come to light, and these four strangers are forced into an uneasy reckoning with the past and with each other.”

• Gabby’s Character:

  • Gabby, seven months pregnant, is the daughter of Nell’s son’s university lecturer. She arrives intending to reveal her pregnancy—a secret kept even from her family, hidden “behind baggy jumpers.”
  • Alana Raquel Bowers (05:23):
    “She really is… she has a blind faith that she can deliver this baby in Ireland, give it away, go back to England as if nothing ever happened... We are watching Gabby understand the weight of this decision and how it affects her over the course of this play.”
  • Gabby is the play’s “driving force of conflict” and her journey becomes a moving exploration of “adulthood, making hard decisions, and being honest with herself and with the people around her.”

Creative Collaboration with Director Nicola Murphy

• Longstanding Partnership:
  • Bowers and director Nicola Murphy have collaborated since Bowers started working with Irish Rep on new works readings, including the first reading of “The Loved Ones.”
  • Their professional relationship deepened as Bowers associate produced “The Black Wolf Tone Fortune,” the first Black Irish-produced show in Irish Rep’s history, for which Murphy was “a driving force” in launching the accompanying Transatlantic Residency program.
  • Alana Raquel Bowers (08:59):
    “She trusted me to invite a different demographic to Irish Repertory Theater that they really haven’t been able to get their grasp on. And it was such a wonderful moment for different communities and different diasporas to come together and realize that we are a lot more similar than we are different.”
  • “The Loved Ones” marks the first mainstage project for Bowers and Murphy as actor and director, respectively.

Reflections on the Ensemble and All-Woman Creative Team

• Extraordinary Cast:
  • Bowers describes rehearsal as “truly like going to school in the best way.” She praises her colleagues:
    • Maryann Plunkett: “Formidable as an artist… a settling grace in the room.”
    • Donna Lynne Champlin: “A true champion… her character is considered the comic relief, and she is a relief herself.”
    • Clare O’Malley: “A real confidant to me… holding the space and the sadness and the rage and the mountainous emotions.”
  • Alana Raquel Bowers (11:18):
    “Coming to rehearsal every day is truly like going to school in the best way. I feel like I learn every day from my castmates who have become loved ones to me.”
• All-Female Creative Team:
  • The production features female designers, stage managers (Mary and Mickey), and an all-woman cast and crew, which Bowers describes as “a different energy… a true collaboration and we all support each other.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the universality of grief and community:
  • Bowers (03:54): "What we all know to be the real remedy of what grief brings, which is like community and presence of others and the acknowledgement that you're not the only one… there are others and will continue to be others."
• On Gabby navigating adulthood:
  • Bowers (06:32): "We actually get to go on a journey with Gabby that I feel like people don't assume we will allow... Which is a journey to adulthood and making hard decisions and being honest with herself and with the people around her."
• On changing demographics at Irish Rep:
  • Bowers (08:59): "She trusted me to invite a different demographic... for different communities and different diasporas to come together and realize that we are a lot more similar than we are different."
• Ensemble gratitude:
  • Bowers (11:18): "My castmates… have become loved ones to me."
  • On working with Donna Lynne Champlin: (13:12): "She is someone who I will continue to be a fan of and support in any way I can because I just love her so much. And being in this play with her is such a gift."
• On the all-woman team:
  • Bowers (14:42): "It's just a different energy having that—all woman cast, an all woman creative team… It is a true collaboration and we all support each other and understand what the other person needs while also ensuring that our characters are getting what they need."

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Important Timestamps

• 01:07: Introduction; setting up the play’s themes and initial question about working with playwright Erika Murray
• 03:21: Bowers on the universality of grief and connecting with Erika Murray
• 04:11: Play summary and Gabby’s introduction into the plot
• 05:23: Bowers describes Gabby’s backstory and arc
• 07:57: Bowers on her longstanding collaboration with director Nicola Murphy and producing “The Black Wolf Tone Fortune”
• 11:18: Reflections on the ensemble and working with the all-female creative team
• 15:27: Closing remarks and gratitude

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Summary Flow

Lauren guides the conversation with warmth and curiosity, allowing Alana Raquel Bowers to elaborate on the deep themes of “The Loved Ones,” her character Gabby’s journey, and the unique collaborative environment at Irish Rep. The episode is rich in discussion about representation, community, and the personal and professional growth that comes from working within such a supportive artistic space, especially one defined by powerful female leadership.

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For those interested in Irish Rep’s innovative productions and the creative journeys of rising stars like Bowers, this episode is an inspiring and insightful listen.

Transcript

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[Lauren Clash Schneider]

Hi, I'm Lauren Clash Schneider with Clash Notes for Broadway Radio. I'm here with Alana Raquel Bowers, who plays Gabby in the Loved Ones at Irish Rep. Welcome.

[Alana Raquel Bowers]

Hi Lauren, how are you?

[Lauren Clash Schneider]

Well, better now that we get to have this conversation with you. The Loved Ones is a sharp, deeply moving and wickedly funny new Irish play about motherhood, grief, and the families we find when life doesn't go as planned. And now the Loved Ones was presented as part of Irish Rep's 2025 new works fall Festival for you. What's it like to be working with playwright Erika Murray?

[Alana Raquel Bowers]

Well, we actually haven't been able to speak to Erica as much, but because I was a part of the New Works Festival back in 2025, we were able to zoom with her then. So she was she was able to give us a little bit of insight on what prompted her to write this play, where her mind and spirit was when it came to grief and loss and motherhood and all of the characteristics that you named about what this particular play is speaking to. And I think hearing her journey, knowing that we all, you know, will or eventually have some sort of connection to grief in some way, it allowed me to realize how universal this play is and can Be she was zooming in from Dublin and we are here in the States and I'm playing a British black 21 year old from Lewisham. I myself am a black woman from Baltimore, Maryland. And yet, you know, all of us, both as artists in the machine, in the piece, and also characters in the play, have this universal sort of stew of that we all add to with our own individual isms, create what we all know to be the real remedy of what grief brings, which is like community and presence of others and the acknowledgement that you're not the only one that you do, there are others and will continue to be others. And so that alone, I think, was a guiding light for us to enter into this world.

[Lauren Clash Schneider]

Hmm, how lovely. A bit more about the play. It's set in a remote farmhouse. Nell prepares to scatter the ashes of her late son alongside his grieving wife. At the same time, an American tourist arrives expecting a peaceful countryside retreat. When a young woman unexpectedly turns up at the cottage. The weekend takes a surprising and darkly comic turn. Tensions rise, secrets come to light, and these four strangers are forced into an uneasy reckoning with the past and with each other. Tell us how your character, Gabby fits into the story.

[Alana Raquel Bowers]

So Gabby is that guest that we are not expecting. She arrives at the cottage of Nell, who is the mother of her university lecturer, who is in fact the father of her seven month of her child, whom she is seven months pregnant.

[Lauren Clash Schneider]

Aha.

[Alana Raquel Bowers]

So not knowing that his wife is coming, not knowing about this American tourist. Gabby's assumption is that she will arrive at the cottage, she will divulge a secret that she's been holding for seven months because she had not spoken to her family or friends about this pregnancy and has been doing her her best to hide it, as she says, behind baggy jumpers. And she really is. She has a blind faith that she can deliver this baby in Ireland, give it away, go back to England as if nothing ever happened. And we learn how, you know, she's 21 years old, the brink of adulthood, but still having those that residue of adolescence, how growing up really involves, sometimes you gotta do it the hard way. And we are watching Gabby understand the weight of this decision and how it affects her over the course of this play. So she is the. She is the driving force of conflict in this play for sure. And at the end of it, we actually get to go on a journey with Gabby that I feel like people don't assume we will, we will allow, we could see with her which is. Which is a journey of adulthood, a journey to adulthood and making hard decisions and being honest with herself and with the people around her. There is definitely conflict when she arrives. But as the play progresses, and I don't want to give too much away, we see that these strangers end up being true, true balms for each other.

[Lauren Clash Schneider]

Perhaps Loved Ones, which is also directed by Nicola Murphy. Dube, had the two of you worked together before and how did this audition come about for you?

[Alana Raquel Bowers]

So, yes, Nicola and I actually have such a. We have a pretty, pretty lengthy professional relationship. I started working at Irish Repertory Theater as an actor just to come in and do these readings of these new, these new works. And Nicola was the director of some of those, some of those readings, including the reading for the Loved Ones. But also I think my, my most cherished relationship that I have with her is I associate produced a show that we put on last spring called the Black Wolf Tone Fortune. And it was the first black Irish produced show written by a black Irish artist that Irish Rep has ever done in their 35 year history. And Nicola was a driving force in helping us, helping, helping us get, get that residency started. That show came from a bigger residency that we have at Irish Rep called the Transatlantic Residency. And we basically bring four black Irish playwrights from Dublin to the States to get their work, to get their work commissioned. That's the goal. And so over the course of two years, from 2024 or 2023 to 2025, we were able to have one piece of that commission go from page to stage. And so Nicola and I worked really hard with the folks over at Fishamble in Dublin to bring this play alive. And she trusted me to invite a different demographic to Irish Repertory Theater that they really haven't been able to get their grasp on. And it was such a wonderful moment for different communities and different diasporas to come together and realize that we are a lot more similar than we are different. And that was a really exciting time for us. And that commission, that residency is continuing with a second cohort starting to form now and with more readings coming in 2027. So Nicola and I really. And also. So we've become friends through all of this. And so it's really special to be able to work with her on this project because this is actually our first main stage project that we've done together, she being my director, me being her actor. So yeah, it's an exciting journey with the collaborator and friend.

[Lauren Clash Schneider]

Absolutely. And it seems like it will continue on and goodness only knows where it will lead. So thank you for sharing all of that. And for you, being an actor, also saying, want to put on the producer hat? And this is how I'm going to do it with this project, with these people, with these goals in mind. I give you so much credit.

[Alana Raquel Bowers]

Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate that.

[Lauren Clash Schneider]

And with the loved ones, you're part of a remarkable cast.

[Alana Raquel Bowers]

I am.

[Lauren Clash Schneider]

Talk about working in that ensemble and who these other actors are.

[Alana Raquel Bowers]

Oh, man. I always joke that I love school, I love academia, I love learning. And coming to rehearsal every day is truly like going to school in the best way. I feel like I learn every day from my castmates who have become loved ones to me. Process. Yeah. I mean, Mary Ann Plunkett is just dynamic as a human being. She is formidable as an artist, and she is one of the best collaborators I've ever worked with. She has been such a. Such a. Such a settling grace in the room for all of us, and she leads the charge and leads this play with such humility and love and grace. And being in the room with her every day and being on stage with her is such an honor. Donna Lynn Champlin is a true champion. She is one of one. She is the. We all have our funny moments. I think her character is considered the comic relief, and she is. She is a. She is a relief herself. She is so beautiful on the inside and out. And the work that she does is so specific, and it's so. You know, questions posed in. In the rehearsal room are, I would say, some of the most important moments of a process because we're all making this world together. And she reminded me how important that is to. To get your questions heard and answered. And she is someone who I will continue to be a fan of and support in any way I can because I just love her so much. And being in this play with her is such a gift. And then there's Claire o', Malley, who I've seen on stage at Irish Rep multiple times. She's. She is a dear, dear company member to the theater. And so I've seen her work and have been a fan of her work for a while, and she has truly been a real confidant to me. And with me on this piece and with this production, she is holding the space and the sadness and the rage and the. The mountainous emotions that her character has to have so beautifully. And watching her navigate that and figure it out again is truly like a masterclass. So I really. And then there's me. You know what I mean? So we really got so lucky. And then, you know, being led by someone like Nicola and having we also have an all female creative team as well. So all of the designers are such talented women and it's just a different energy having that an all woman cast, an all woman creative team. Everyone really, you know, our stage management team is so stellar. Shout out to Mary and Mickey. And so we just, we all work as a team. It is a true collaboration and we all support each other and understand what the other person needs while also ensuring that our characters are getting what they need. And it's just. Yeah, it's pretty dreamy, Lauren. I can't lie,

[Lauren Clash Schneider]

it sure sounds that way and a time to cherish. And it also seems as though Irish Rep looks to create environments where this type of really extraordinary teamwork and collaboration can thrive. And I thank you for the deep dive about it.

[Alana Raquel Bowers]

Of course.

[Lauren Clash Schneider]

I'm Lauren Claus Schneider with Alana Raquel Bowers who plays Gabby in the Loved Ones at Irish Rep. Thank you.

[Hiker 1]

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[Hiker 2]

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[Hiker 1]

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[Hiker 2]

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