Acting, set, dancing all shine during ‘Lughnasa’
By 25 minutes into the Star Bar Players’ beautiful new production of “Dancing at Lughnasa,” I was hooked. Brian Friel’s loose, nostalgic reminiscences of the five spinster Mundy sisters was so atmospheric, and the performances so galvanic, that I knew nothing would happen that might betray my faith in the production. Friel could even get away with the cheeky step of telling us just before intermission what’s going to happen in Act 2.
The scene is rural Ireland in the late summer of 1936, when Michael — the illegitimate son of Chris, and the tale’s narrator — is 7 years old. In addition to the domestic upheavals that eventually destroy the family, the summer stands out in Michael’s mind for the appearance of Uncle Jack, recently sent back to Ireland after a quarter-century as a missionary in Uganda; the family’s new radio; and a pair of visits by Gerry, Michael’s ne’er-dowell father.
Director Kelly Walters has assembled one of the finest casts ever seen on a local stage. Each sister is memorable: Amy Brooks as Kate, the family’s leader and superego; Ashley Crockett as Maggie, the family’s unquenchable id; Jane Fromme as Agnes, the conciliator who tries to keep her sisters at peace by distracting them before an argument can get going; Sara Borgeson as simple-minded, frustrated Rose; and Laura Tesman as Chris, the stifled romantic.
Their lives are a succession of small disappointments and even smaller pleasures. Aside from each other and Michael, they have almost nothing.
But what we experience is not their poverty, but the richness of their lives together.
The male characters in “Lughnasa” — a child, a brother and a lover — form an essential counterpoint to the women. Mark Hennessy plays the adult version of Michael with the solemn intensity of a man who’s still trying to make sense of his past. Steve Wallace makes Jack’s “distinctive spiritual search” and his growing physical strength absolutely believable. Dylan Mosley radiates shallow charm as the rake who never brings his son a present because he never finds anything quite nice enough for him.
It’s not difficult to poke holes in Friel’s play. It’s more a series of exquisite vignettes than an actual story. Not only does “Lughnasa” feature an omniscient narrator, but it features an omniscient radio that turns off and on — always with exactly the right music — at each opportune moment.
But somehow these contrivances strengthen rather than weaken the play, by reminding viewers that everything they see is filtered through Michael’s memory.
And memories are what “Dancing at Lughnasa” will give play-goers: Brooks’ Kate squelching her sisters’ enthusiasm, out of what she thinks are the best motives; Crockett in a brilliant scene that begins as a warm memory and turns bitter; and Tesman and Mosley dancing around each other with heart-rending awkwardness.
This is one of Star Bar Players’ most opulent productions ever. Nancy Hankin’s diagonal set is evocative and imaginative — and the idea of covering the Lon Chaney Theater’s shabby black wings with light-covered fabric is a simple but brilliant touch.
Janet Johnson provides the subtle but effective choreography: The dancing in the play’s title is meant literally.
details
The Star Bar Players present “Dancing at Lughnasa”
When: 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays through May 14, and 2 p.m. May 14
Where: Lon Chaney Theatre, City Auditorium, 221 E. Kiowa St.
Tickets: $12-$15; 573-7411
