Ireland mustn't be such a bad place, so - but it certainly isn't devoid of faults or wickedness.
This is made entirely clear in The Cripple of Inishmaan, Martin McDonagh's darkly comic and touching work about a physically challenged young man's dreams of becoming a Hollywood star. The spritely production currently being mounted by The Irish Players of Rochester, a subset of Rochester Community Players, gives its audience just the right balance of sentimentality and harsh absurdity. Under Jean Gordon Ryon's direction, McDonagh's comical drama about the nature of lies, gossip, and identity makes for a night of quality entertainment.
The play's events are based around the actual filming of the documentary Man of Aran in 1934. When the inhabitants of a town on the small island of Inishmaan get wind of the filming through self-appointed newsman Johnnypateenmike (played with egotistical glee by David Runzo), the news causes a stir, to say the least. The eponymous cripple, Billy Claven (Andy Cowen), immediately becomes determined to get to the filming and attempt to become a movie star, despite the doubts and jeers of his fellow townspeople, including those of his loving (if slightly daft) aunties, Kate and Eileen (the equally wonderful Kathy Dauer and Mary Quinlan, respectively). The filming sets off the multitude of fights, deceptions and squabbles that comprise the rest of the play; complete with a few characteristic twists and turns, the play is driven by the eccentricities of the townspeople of Inishmaan.
Unlike A Behanding in Spokane, McDonagh's latest venture on Broadway, The Cripple of Inishmaan boasts a bevy of well-drawn, believable (if somewhat ridiculous) characters whose individual yearnings for greatness beyond the shores of Inishmaan are absurdly heartfelt. Born of Irish parents in London, McDonagh skillfully plays with the stereotype of the folksy Irish and crafts characters whose bitter shortcomings, harsh views on life, and general faults make them all the more interesting (the choice of incidental music for scene changes, however, goes against this subversion to an absurd degree). Each character, as a result, has a delightfully unexpected and perverse edge, derived from the boredom and tedium of rural life. McDonagh's strong sense of Irish character and nationalism is the backbone of the play; his sense of dialect and of the values intrinsic to the various parts of Ireland is incredibly keen and informs his clever comic dialogue in numerous ways. Nationality is important to the overall point of the play; McDonagh examines what it means to be Irish both in respect to the country itself as well as in respect to England and Ireland, not quite coming to a definite stance on the subject but thoughtfully exploring it nonetheless. The play is also one of McDonagh's tamest; compared to his other works, there is much less violence and bodily harm depicted onstage in Cripple. The relative lack of violence does not defang the play of acerbic vulgarities, however - McDonagh's verbal barbs do enough damage to Make Up For the deficit.
This particular production benefits from strong ensemble work; the cast truly makes the audience believe that they are a close-knit community, and their ability to work deftly with and off of each other is admirable. No moment communicates this more succinctly than when the lights come up on the climactic showing of the film; the comical sight of the people of Inishmaan, perched on folding chairs and staring quizzically at the movie screen (fashioned from the local eggman's bed sheets). Jamal Abudinnasir and Sarah Rathbun as the feuding McCormick siblings are exceptionally memorable; Abudinnasir's Bartley is charmingly thick, even with egg on his face, and Rathbun's Helen is as fiercely dangerous as she is pretty. The only real weak link in the very strong cast is Ken Dauer as Babbybobby, the boatman who brings Billy and the McCormicks to Inishmore to see the filming. Dauer's accent comes and goes throughout scenes and, though his acting is solid in its own right, his performance simply does not live up to those of the rest of the ensemble.
The intimate space of MuCCC is an ideal setting for a play that deals with the machinations of a small community, and The Irish Players do not disappoint. The Cripple of Inishmaan is a bitterly honest, black comedy with a heart that is sure to provide a biteen of laughter.
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The Irish Players of Rochester program of the Rochester Community Players is presenting Martin McDonagh's twisted comedy The Cripple of Inishmaan March 26 through April 11 at MuCCC, the Multi-use Community Cultural Center, 142 Atlantic Avenue, Rochester. The award-winning Irish Players will have performances on the following days: Friday, April 2 at 8:00 PM, Saturday, April 3 at 8:00 PM, Thursday, April 8 at 8:00 PM, Friday, April 9 at 8:00 PM, Saturday April 10 at 8:00 PM, and Sunday April 11 at 2:00 PM.
