By Lauren Yarger
John Patrick Shanley's newest Broadway entry, Outside Mullingar, is a wee delight. Well, not so wee. This lyrical, charming and surprising play getting a run by Manhattan Theatre Club is hugely satisfying. In fact, it's one of the most enjoyable shows of the season so far.
The always-excellent Brian O'Byrne (Frozen, Doubt), and TV star Debra Messing ("Smash," "Will and Grace"), who is impressive in her Broadway debut, team as two aging misfits in the midlands of Ireland who watch life pass by.
Anthony Reilly (O'Byrne) has worked his family's cattle farm all of his life, but suddenly, his disapproving father, Tony (Peter Maloney), starts hinting that he might disinherit his son who's never married and had a family. More importantly, he doesn't seem to enjoy the work.
"I don't take joy in the work," he says, "But I do it. Some of us don't have joy, but we do what we must."
The marrying part is not for lack of trying, however, on the part of Rosemary, (Messing, who manages an impressive Irish accent with the help of Dialect Coach Stephen Gabis). She's been trying to let Anthony know she's interested ever since they were youngsters, but something always seems to hold him back.
As Tony contemplate plans to sell his farm to a cousin, he talks about the future and death with his newly widowed neighbor, Aoife Muldoon (Dearbhla Molloy) and discovers that a strip of land he'd sold to her husband now belongs to Rosemary. That could prevent him from being able to make the real estate transaction.
Time passes and the elder Reilly's health fails, prompting a moving reconciliation with his son that explores the depths of family relationships and the capacity for all of us to forgive. What seemed the actions of a harsh, dissatisfied man, might really have been the act of a compassionate father trying to make his son happy.
As time continues to pass, however, it seems Rosemary and the shy object of her affections might never get together until Anthony takes a step of faith and shares with her about voices he hears out in the fields and a scary truth about himself that has prevented him from pursuing their relationship.
This revelation, startling and at first, unfathomable and humorous, steadily takes hold as Shanley's brilliance shines through and we realize Anthony's secret is a metaphor for the quirks we all have in our personalities that make us feel unlovable. It's a sweet, touching tale told in lyrical prose by a master storyteller who makes us laugh until we cry.
Doug Hughes directs excellent performances and engages a stellar creative team: John Lee Beatty, sets; Catherine Zuber, costumes; Mark McCullough, lighting; Tom Watson, hair and wig design, and original music and sound design by Fitz Patton. My one pet peeve: the rain doesn't look natural.
Outside Mullingar plays through March 16 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th St., NYC. http://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/
Christians might also like to know:
--God's name taken in vain
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