A good drama ends at the very end
2013-09-26
Martin McDonagh's "The Cripple of Inishmaan" is one of those fine Irish plays where you think you know how things are going to turn out and they don't.
Set in 1934 on the island of Inishmaan, off the west coast of Ireland, this play predates political correctness. Therefore, when the whole town calls him "Cripple Billy," it is understood as exact description. The thing is that Billy, who hates the nickname, is crippled not only by his deformed feet, but by his past as well. He has been adopted by two loving women whom he calls his aunts, but he has never really understood what happened to his parents. He believes that they did not love him.
Delivering news faster than any real newspaper is Johnnypateenmike, played superbly by Tom Libonate. There's no bluffing and no overacting. He simply steps into the character's skin and wears it well. The character is complex in that it is comic, manipulative, desperate, and at times downright unlikeable. Libonate portrays all of the above without flinching.
Sonnie Osborne, as the older aunt Kate, delivers her best performance ever. She was perfectly cast in this production, as was Susan Pettibone as Kate's younger sister, Eileen. Both Kate and Eileen own a small town convenience store. Susan Pettibone endears Eileen to the audience by showing how her character loves sweets, especially one kind of candy that disappears before it hits the counter. The actress is also right on with her facial gestures, which often say more than words could express.
Joseph Russo as Billy is the star of this show and it is a bright and shining star at that. How he manages to walk after affecting a deformed foot throughout the entire production is baffling. More than acting crippled physically, Russo makes Billy a deep thinker and a sensitive man. That's not easy to pull off, but Russo does so with uncanny naturalness.
James Hipp as Bartley, a dimwitted younger brother of sassy Slippy Helen, comes close to going over the top, but brings Bartley's comic edge to a full boil. Alison Bernhardt as Slippy Helen is so good she could easily have stolen the show if not for Russo's fabulous performance. Bernheardt plays Helen rough and tough, comedic, but with a cruel edge. Helen is a likeable gal but that cruel streak hides her vulnerable inner self. She is desperately looking for love.
BabbyBobby is probably the most normal character in the play. That's not easy to act, but Keir Hansen does so naturally and without affectation. Frank Arcano as Doctor McSharry looks and acts just like a caring small-town doctor. One of the most outstanding performances of the evening was Jane Farnol's. At the very last minute she stepped in for Ellen Burnett, who became ill and could not make the performance. An actor's actor, Farnol played the old drunken Mammy O'Dougal as if she knew all the lines by heart and had rehearsed the role a thousand times. She learned them one night before opening night, and she was on book, though most would never have known it.
Richard Pettiibone directed this play, with sensitivity, but without sentimentality. He also homes in on the comedy, which defuses much of what could easily lend itself to an overly emotional tendency. He also designed the smart set, which involved two-sided flats and plenty of props. Every scene change is smooth and almost unnoticeable.
Overall, this is a great Irish play with a great cast of regional actors.