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Learning to appreciate Martin McDonagh
McDonagh's "Beauty Queen of Leenane' at the Lantern (2nd review)
Steve Cohen
When I saw Martin McDonagh's first play, The Beauty Queen of Leenane in 1998, it struck me as brutal. Since then, theatergoers have grown inured to the escalating violence in the playwright's subsequent dramas (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, A Skull in Connamara, The Pillowman).
Now Beauty Queen seems so innocent by comparison that, at the Lantern's current production, for a while I found myself thinking: Let's get on with it; let's see some blood.
Manipulative mother
For many minutes, we in the audience find ourselves immersed in heavy Irish brogue and in the characters' mundane complaints about porridge and poor TV reception. But eventually I arrived at a new appreciation for the intimacy and sad sweetness of this domestic tale.
The place is a village in Connemara, County Galway, and the principal players are a lonely 40-year-old woman who gets her first and possibly final chance at love, and her manipulative mother who is determined to derail everything. Mag, the mother (Mary Martello), is a conniving and unpleasant hag and Maureen, her daughter (Megan Bellwoar), is entirely sympathetic.
Yet McDonagh gradually reveals unexpected facets of both women. His clever misdirection turns the domestic play into a mystery that reaches a carefully prepared climax.
Inventive portrayal
After we witness the confining oppression of Maureen's servitude, a relationship begins to develop with her childhood friend, Pato Dooley, recently returned to town for a brief visit. He is frustrated by the loneliness of his own life. Pato compliments Maureen as the beauty queen of Leenane, and one of the pleasures of the play is that we're never sure if he's truly impressed with her or if this is just his come-on line.
Previous productions portrayed Maureen as very plain; Bellwoar, in contrast, exudes a sweet beauty. This inventive portrayal renders her even more appealing to us. Both Bellwoar and Martello deliver convincing and powerful performances. Charlie DelMarcelle gives us a sympathetic Pato. Sean Lally is properly irritating as Pato's younger brother, Ray.♦
To read another review by Marshall A. Ledger, click here.
Now Beauty Queen seems so innocent by comparison that, at the Lantern's current production, for a while I found myself thinking: Let's get on with it; let's see some blood.
Manipulative mother
For many minutes, we in the audience find ourselves immersed in heavy Irish brogue and in the characters' mundane complaints about porridge and poor TV reception. But eventually I arrived at a new appreciation for the intimacy and sad sweetness of this domestic tale.
The place is a village in Connemara, County Galway, and the principal players are a lonely 40-year-old woman who gets her first and possibly final chance at love, and her manipulative mother who is determined to derail everything. Mag, the mother (Mary Martello), is a conniving and unpleasant hag and Maureen, her daughter (Megan Bellwoar), is entirely sympathetic.
Yet McDonagh gradually reveals unexpected facets of both women. His clever misdirection turns the domestic play into a mystery that reaches a carefully prepared climax.
Inventive portrayal
After we witness the confining oppression of Maureen's servitude, a relationship begins to develop with her childhood friend, Pato Dooley, recently returned to town for a brief visit. He is frustrated by the loneliness of his own life. Pato compliments Maureen as the beauty queen of Leenane, and one of the pleasures of the play is that we're never sure if he's truly impressed with her or if this is just his come-on line.
Previous productions portrayed Maureen as very plain; Bellwoar, in contrast, exudes a sweet beauty. This inventive portrayal renders her even more appealing to us. Both Bellwoar and Martello deliver convincing and powerful performances. Charlie DelMarcelle gives us a sympathetic Pato. Sean Lally is properly irritating as Pato's younger brother, Ray.♦
To read another review by Marshall A. Ledger, click here.
What, When, Where
The Beauty Queen of Leenane. By Martin McDonagh; Kathryn MacMillan directed. Lantern Theater production through February 10, 2013 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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