HOME PAGE SITE GUIDE REVIEWS FEATURES NEWS Etcetera and Short Term Listings LISTINGS Broadway Off-Broadway NYC Restaurants BOOKS and CDs OTHER PLACES Berkshires London California DC Philadelphia Elsewhere QUOTES On TKTS PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS LETTERS TO EDITOR FILM LINKS MISCELLANEOUS Free Updates Masthead Writing for Us |
A CurtainUp Review
Rum and Vodka
To date, playwright Conor McPherson has devoted more than his fair share of words waxing poetic on drink and cigarettes. In 1999 his spare ghost story of a play, The Weir, received the Olivier Award for Best Play. As Rum and Vodka, which McPherson wrote at the tender age of 20, is a monologue, casting is key. In Mark Alhadeff, McPherson has found his muse -- a perfect conduit for the material, which unspools more like a Bukowski short story, than an Irish drinking tale. Our anti-hero holds down an office job in the suburbs of Dublin. He and his mates are fond of their daily routine -- a stopover at the pub after a hard day’s work. But somehow his devotion to drink spirals out of control, and Alhadeff finds himself at work fingered as being drunk. In a blind fury he hurls his MacIntosh through a window, which has the misfortune of crashing through his supervisor’s car. This sets in motion a lost weekend, where he puts away some 52 pints over a three-day period. In the course of this sad sack tale, we hear his backstory. While he courted a childhood sweetheart, he was forced into marrying a one-night stand, on account of her pregnancy. Despite having a responsible job with two kids and a wife, in one short weekend the glue of responsibility to his ad-hoc family, and himself, comes utterly undone. With a wry wink here and a jot of contrition there, Mark Alhadeff achieves the impossible. He casts a tale of a self-destructive sod, but somehow he is a cad –- likeable, if not redeemable. Alhadeff’s seasoned dialect is hard won; to perfect it he sought out Irish ex-pats in Woodside, Queens to craft his taut, regional speech. The audience is rewarded for his efforts. Rum and Vodka, a libation which is said to have the "power to wake the dead," is a ghost tale in a tumbler. Rather than a plea for forgiveness, it shows an Everyman enduring a sudden and fatal fall from grace. If you are the mood for a tale well-told, this is hard luck on the rocks, but with a twist. Rum and Vodkas are available at the makeshift bar for a suggested donation of $3. Conor McPherson’s Dublin Carol will have its New York premiere at the Atlantic Theater next spring. LINKS TO OTHER REVIEWS OF MCPHERSON PLAYS: Dublin Carol The Good Thief Port Authority St. Nicholas This Lime Tree Bower Conor The Weir (London) The Weir (NY)
|
6, 500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp 's editor.Click image to buy. Go here for details and larger image. |