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The Beauty Queen of Leenane
By Martin McDonagh
Directed by Sheldon Patinkin
At the Gift Theatre
4802 N. Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL
Call 773-283-7071, tickets $20 - $25
Thursdays, Friday & Saturday at 8 PM
Sunday at 3 PM
Running time is 2 hours with intermission
Through July 29, 2007
Fabulous acting propels dark Irish play
With Sheldon Patinkin directing and the revered actress Mary Ann Thebus playing the lead, the Gift Theatre offeres a terrific production of the famed Irish work. The winner of four Tony Awards in 1998, The Beauty Queer of Leenane is part of Martin McDonagh’s Leenane Trilogy, which includes A Skull in Connemara and Lonesome West. McDonagh has been described as the most original and serious Irish playwright in years. In McDonagh’s plays everyday banality takes on sinister undertones, coupling this with dark comedy and melodramatic plots makes for interesting theatre.This play showcases McDonagh’s brash humor, rich language and inventive storytelling in an emotionally realized production of this dark and bitingly play.
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Set in a shabby, isolated cottage in the west of Ireland (excellent set design by John Zuiker), the play tells the darkly comic tale of a mother and daughter engaged in an epic battle of ordinary life. The mother, Mag (Mary Ann Thebus) whines and bullies to get her way while the plain, unmarried forty-year-old daughter, resentfully carries out the mother’s every command.
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The women spend their days in endless rounds of petty insults and physical threats as each maneuver for control of their isolated existence. When Maureen (Lynda Newton) is offered a chance at love and a new life with Pato Dooley (John Gawlik), this once-benign terrain grows treacherous and the two women, bound by blood but driven by desperation, will do anything to survive. Pato’s brother Ray (Brian Deneen) provides the light relief in this potent family drama. Full of universal themes as it applies to any place where people are trapped by circumstances, whether family or social; this play redefines ‘dysfunctional families.’
Mary Ann Thebus, as Meg, the mother, got us to hate her as she was deliciously the evil old lady. John Gawlik, as Pato Dooley was charming and effective while Brian Deneen, as Ray Dooley offered nice comedic turns as the slow-witted neighbor. Deneen is a real find here.
The cast of four wonderfully talented actors is lead by Mary Ann Thebus as nasty mother. Lynda Newton as the beleaguered Maureen Folan hates her nagging mother, blaming her for her loneliness. We see Maureen come apart in a measured, understated performance by Newton.
.Your trip to the Northwest Side of Chicago will be rewarded as this gem offers laughs and a surprise ending. This fast-paced production captivates audiences from the start and transforms us into the bleak world of rural Ireland. This play is wicked, unpredictable and emotional. Kudos to the cast for sporting authentic and consistent Irish brogues. Mary Ann Thebus’ performance alone make this show worth seeing.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: June 21, 2007
Jeff Recommended
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