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Written by Andra Coberly
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Thursday, 17 April 2008 |
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There's a moment during 'The Cripple of Inishmaan,' now being put on by OpenStage Theatre & Company, when I knew I didn't want to leave. At some point, I realized that I had a goofy smile stuck on my face, and I knew that I could spend hours watching the people on this tiny Irish island, smitten with their quirks and their spunk, the lyrical brogue, the penchant for curse words and uncouth commentary.
Yes, I could people-watch on Inishmaan for hours. But as all things do, 'The Cripple of Inishmaan' ended and I was asked to leave.
The charm of this production — the solid character-driven script by Martin McDonagh lovingly cared for with thoughtful direction by Ken Fenwick and set on an immaculately designed and dressed stage — is largely because of the people who call Inishmaan home.
The story is fine enough (underdog hopes to make it big and escape the shackles of his homeland) and even develops several idiosyncratic plot twists along the way. The moral is a sufficient one: being cripple is not just a physical ailment; some of the most beautiful people can be mentally or emotionally crippled.
But the characters are the meat in this hearty stew.
The cripple on Inishmaan, a little town on the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland during the 1930s, is Billy Claven (Jason Short), an orphan boy who stares at grazing cows to escape the fretting of his “aunts” and the gossip and harassment from the Inishmaan residents. His aunts, Eileen (Deb Note-Farwell) and Kate (Kathy Leonard), are eccentric shopkeepers who fuss over Billy like he was an ugly, three-legged puppy.
Making his usual rounds, Johnnypateenmike (Marlin May), the town's newsman who enjoys spreading gossip on livestock deformities and neighborly feuds, tells Billy and the aunts that an American film crew has come to a neighboring island to shoot a movie. A threesome of locals has already planned to take a boat to the film set: a feisty, cursing, egg-throwing blonde named Helen (Lorraine Larocque), her ditsy, sweet-loving brother Bartley (Will Ferrie) and Babbybobby (Eric W. Corneliuson), a roughnecked widower.
Upon hearing about the trio's trip, Billy tells Babbybobby that he only has three months to live and he wants to come along and to eventually make it to Hollywood. From there, the plot thickens and McDonagh crafts a dark, ironic second-half. It's a heartbreaking story, but it never ceases to be funny.
Bringing the characters to life is a stellar cast — from the principles down to Mammy, who is played by a wonderfully spunky Shela Jennings — that makes this production a powerhouse.
But the highlights are Short and Larocque. Short is effortlessly comfortable in Cripple Billy's shoes, giving him a subtle mix of heart, hope, humor and dejected spirit. Where he is soft and wincing, Larocque's Helen is an unabashed tornado on stage, blasting into the scene throwing “fecking fecks” around like it was her business (actually, her business is eggs and she throws those around too).
In certain plays you can tell that the creators — the writer and the director — truly feel in love with the characters, despite or in spite of their flaws. It's that balance of creating and nurturing farce-like quirkiness without letting them become caricatures. It's about creating people that could be real, that might have been real at one time on some island far away.
TO GO:
The Cripple of Inishmaan
Lincoln Center : Mini Theater
417 W Magnolia, Fort Collins
Box Office : 970-221-6730
Fridays and Saturdays, April 5-May 3,
Sundays, April 20 and 27
Thursday, May 1
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