SITE GUIDE
SEARCH
REVIEWS
REVIEW ARCHIVES
ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP
FEATURES
NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings
LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
NYC Restaurants
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
TKTS
PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
A CurtainUp Review
Dublin by Lamplight
|
Frank leant his brow against the cool, damp tiles. People’s feet walked over the glass skylight above him - walking over his grave. He’d had a few, but he still didn’t feel calm.— Frank
|
Jared Michael Delaney in Dublin by Lamplight
(Photo credit: Katie Reing) |
One hundred years later, Corn Exchange commemorated the first even with Dublin by Lamplight, written by Michael West and directed by the company’s artistic director, Annie Ryan. The play blends real events (King Edward VII’s visit to Ireland) with Irish myth (the theater’s inaugural production, called The Wooing of Emer, is about the Irish fictional hero Cuchulain) and pure invention (this first production is plagued with mishaps reminiscent of those seen in Michael Frayns Noises Off. The play was presented in a style that combined narration and Corn Exchange’s trademark Commedia dell’Arte.
In Inis Nua Theatre Company’s production, directed by Tom Reing, now onstage at 59#59 Theaters as part of the Irish Festival taking place throughout the city, the faithful adherence to Corn Exchange’s original production results in an evening that is both thought-provoking and entertaining.
Six actors perform a multitude of roles, but the most important ones are Willy Hayes (Jered McLenigen), the distracted and struggling producer; his brother Frank (Jared Michael Delaney), an alcoholic actor who is convinced he can advance Ireland’s cause by planting a bomb under the king’s limo; Eva St. John (Megan Bellwoar), the volatile star and part-time Republican; Maggie (Sarah Van Auken), the wardrobe girl who is in love with and pregnant by Frank; Jimmy (Michael Doherty), a stagehand hopelessly in love with Maggie; and Martyn (Mike Dees), a sensible actor trying to maintain sanity amidst the mayhem.
With only a barebones set that can be either the front of the theater or backstage, and piano music that sets the mood, Dublin by Lamplight takes the audience through the streets of Dublin, and into a cafe, a police station and the city morgue. The actors wear heavy white greasepaint, which turns the them into abstractions but at the same time makes them all the more expressive.
These six performers are so charming and so well-directed that even some of the running jokes, which can only be fully understood by those with a good understanding of Irish history, are nevertheless funny. Delaney and McLenigan work together like Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello or any of the great comic teams that come to mind. And Van Auken has a forlorn audacity and cunning that evokes both laughter and compassion.
But the true genius of this production is the magnificent synergy in the ensemble work. There’s a lot of comic physicality in this show. This requires perfect timing and well-executed exits and entrances, to say nothing of faultless falls. Much of the delight lies in choreography that gives the show a dance-like quality.
If you like your history tweaked a bit and you appreciate performance art as much as traditional theater, Dublin by Lamplight is a show you won’t want to miss.
|
Dublin by Lamplight Witten by Michael West Directed by Tom Reing Music composed and performed by John Lionarons Cast: Megan Bellwoar (Eva), Mike Dees (Martyn), Jared Michael Delaney (Frank), Michael Doherty (Jimmy), Jered McLenigan (Willy), Sarah van Auken (Maggie) Scenic Designer: Meghn Jones Lighting Designer: Terry Smith Costume Designer: Maggie Baker Stage Manager: Melanie Leeds Running Time: 90 minutes Inis Nua Theatre Company 59E59 Theaters, 59 E 59th Street 59e59.org From 9/8/11; opening 9/14 closing 10/2/11 Tuesday - Thursday at 7:15pm; Friday - Satur(312) 279-4200day at 8:15pm; Sunday at 3:15pm Tickets: $35 Reviewed by Paulanne Simmons |
|
REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V): Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email. . .also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review. Visit Curtainup's Blog Annex For a feed to reviews and features as they are posted add http://curtainupnewlinks.blogspot.com to your reader Curtainup at Facebook . . . Curtainup at Twitter Subscribe to our FREE email updates: E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message. If you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country. |
Book of Mormon -CDOur review of the show
Slings & Arrows-the complete set
You don't have to be a Shakespeare aficionado to love all 21 episodes of this hilarious and moving Canadian TV series about a fictional Shakespeare Company
