Kitty Swink (Photo by Karianne Flaathen)
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
The 6th Act at The Matrix Theatre
Through June 22
RECOMMENDED
Playwright John Patrick Shanley has a beguiling gift for clever, expressive writing and for exploring emotional and psychological complexities in seemingly mundane situations. He won an Academy Award for best Screenplay in 1988 for Moonstruck, which probed the darker interior of a complicated romance. Themes of loneliness, anger, fear and the redemptive power of love are prominent in his 1983 two-character play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.
In Outside Mullingar, Shanley again delves into the realm of love and the mysteries of the human heart in sweetly (but not overburdened) sentimental fashion. The play is set in a cattle and sheep farm in the Irish countryside hamlet of Killucan and spans five years. The action unfolds on two adjacent farms whose owners have something of a strained history. As the play opens, Tony Reilly (Armin Shimerman) and his son Anthony (Michael Kirby) have just attended their neighbor’s wake and are hosting the widow, Aiofe Muldoon (Kitty Swink) in their home. It’s a spirited gathering where good-natured banter and laughter eerily overshadow the gravitas of the moment.
Aiofe has a daughter, Rosemary (co-artistic director Liza Seneca in a thoroughly captivating turn), who for a long time has had a crush on Anthony. She is strong-willed, very opinionated, prefers going her own way in life and keeping her feelings for the shy, awkward Anthony to herself. The two, in many respects, mirror each other. Anthony has stayed on at the farm to help his father (I’ve been breaking my back for the place since I was five, “he fumes at his father), and Rosemary has been playing the dutiful daughter in her home. They are both inextricably tied to the land, unable to imagine life outside of it or something better for themselves, let alone the prospect of love.
Until both of their parents die of their lingering infirmities — leaving them alone, and with no one to turn to but each other. And that is what they do, in a humorous cascade of fits, starts and revelations. There are no surprises that arise from this situation, but watching things play out is fun and more than a little satisfying.
This first-rate production is powered by outstanding cast performances. The infectious vibrancy and skill these four actors bring to their characters immediately beckons and is highly effective under director Matthew Leavitt’s perceptive direction (Credit dialect coach Keri Safran for fine work on capturing the sonorous rhythms and peculiarities of Irish speech). Scenic designer Mark Mendelson has designed a beauty of a revolving prop which showcases the interior of both houses and outside areas.
The 6th Act, The Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru June 22. https://the6thact.ludus.com Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
