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Arrah-na-Pogue and the Spirit of St. Patrick’s Day

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:01:00 -0400

It seems everyone would like to be Irish in the month of March. The celebration of St. Patrick’s Day has, with the help of Hallmark and the local pub, become a monthlong event. Even beer and bagels”two things that should never be green”become miraculously emerald in hue around the 17th of March. These practices could arguably be deemed overkill”a commercial attempt to squeeze every drop of Irish blood, however small, out of people who cannot properly pronounce “Slainte.” However, Storm Theatre’s timely offering of Dion Boucicault’s Arrah-na-Pogue could only be called overkill by the most hardened St. Patrick’s Day cynic.

Set during the Rebellion of 1798, the play, billed as a “classic Irish comedy,” is handled skillfully by director Peter Dobbins and his thoroughly entertaining cast, offering the audience a sweet glimpse past March’s ever-present “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” t-shirts into a world where love, loyalty and a good joke win the day.

The play opens (as a good Irish romance should) in moonlight at the ruins of St. Kevin’s Abbey. Beamish Mac Coul (Jonathan Blakely), a leader in the Rebellion, is fleeing to safety in France, unwilling to put his men in danger. Tall and dashing, the audience soon learns that Beamish has strong attachments to two women.

Fanny Power (Christine Bullen), the well-to-do ward of Colonel O’Grady, is Beamish’s long-standing secret fiancé, with whom he intends to elope before leaving for France. The other woman is Arrah Meelish (Nicola Murphy), Beamish’s foster sister, who has been secretly sheltering the rebel in a cabin on her farm. Arrah is to marry Shaun the Post (Philip Mills) the very next day, but has been keeping Beamish’s presence a secret from Shaun in order to protect him from becoming an accomplice.

As Beamish leaves the ruins that night, he waylays a man named Michael Feeney (Paul Nugent) and robs him of his money. Feeney elicits little sympathy for his plight, for he quickly shows himself to be an opportunistic weasel of a rent collector with an unhealthy obsession with Arrah.

Beamish ends up giving Feeney’s money to Arrah as a wedding present and a thank you for all she has done, but when Feeney discovers his bank notes in Arrah’s possession, he quickly sees a way to ruin her reputation and win her for himself. As the play progresses and secrets are revealed, the two couples find their relationships tested on a very public stage.

On the whole, the charm and enthusiasm of the cast is infectious. As Shaun the Post, Philip Mills’ sincere conveyance of his character’s delight in his new bride combines with an impish twinkle in his eyes to make it impossible for the audience not to root for him whole-heartedly. Nicola Murphy rises to the challenge of portraying a woman worthy of such unswerving devotion, giving Arrah an irresistible blend of sweetness, spine, and sense of fun.

Jonathan Blakely portrays Beamish with confidence and humility, compelling the audience to see why the other characters are willing to risk so much for him, and the impressive Irish dancing and singing by Jennie McGuinness and Michelle Kafel, respectively, give the wedding scene just the right combination of spirit and wistfulness. But perhaps most impressive is Paul Nugent’s smart use of physicality and tonality”artistic choices that make Michael Feeney instantly dislikeable. From the moment Nugent scampers onstage, he whines and leers until his presence becomes tangibly repulsive.

Arrah-na-Pogue is not an easy show to mount. The tone could very easily slip into schmaltz and lose its charm. But Peter Dobbins’ direction allows the audience to tune in to the lyricism of Boucicault’s script without over-steeping them in Irish sentimentality. Yes, stereotypes are all there to be found, but the simplicity and sincerity with which they are handled allow the story to unfold as a fable, not a caricature.

The production transforms the Theatre of the Church of Notre Dame from a cold church basement into a dynamic performance space, with the intimate setting forcing the audience to engage with the action onstage. The community that the characters live in is vital to their story, and the staging allows the audience to become a part of the characters’ world, witnessing the joy of Arrah and Shaun’s wedding and the tension of Shaun’s trial as more than mere outside observers.

The story of Arrah-na-Pogue offers a thoughtful meditation on the nature of love and trust. Arrah and Shaun’s unshakeable devotion to each other arises from their mutual belief in the innate good of their beloved and their consequent commitment to putting the other first. This admirable love does not pave an easy road to happiness for the couple, but instead gives them something better”the profound easiness of soul that comes from knowing, absolutely, that you are loved.

Their love has the strength not just to endure adversity, but to blossom in the face of it. Conversely, the lack of faith displayed by Fanny not only threatens her own relationship, but also would have undermined a bond weaker than Arrah and Shaun’s. Fanny and Beamish’s chance at a happy ending results from Beamish’s ability to forgive her and accept her love even with its flaws.

Arrah-na-Pogue is not without relevance to the contemporary Irish flavor of March, with the character of Fanny Power most closely capturing the modern St. Patrick’s Day cynic. Drawn in by the romance and gallantry of Beamish, she is nonetheless unable to believe the promise of what he offers her. It takes Fanny the longest to understand the beauty of Arrah-na-Pogue ’s message. The kind of love that endures is the love that dares to challenge adversity and come out the other end stronger.

It is the kind of love that is immortalized in Irish ballads and fairy tales, and that requires a great leap of faith to accept. This faith, perhaps more than a draft of good stout or a grinning leprechaun, is what we should focus on during this month of St. Patrick’s Days.

Arrah-na-Pogue runs through April 2nd at the Theatre of the Church of Notre Dame, Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30p.m., and Saturdays at 2p.m. Tickets are available at www.smarttix.com or by phone at 212-868-4444.

Monica R. Weigel is a teaching artist and director in New York City, and works as the Education Coordinator at Park Avenue Armory. She holds a Masters in Educational Theatre from New York University.

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Storm the Theatre This Weekend

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:00:13 -0500

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Entertaining Shakespeare: The Storm Theatre’s As You Like It

Wed, 26 May 2010 00:03:00 -0400

Shakespearean directors, scholars and critics may never reach a consensus about the right way to stage a Shakespeare play. Heated arguments will break out over whether there should be a modern concept or if it should be staged in traditional Elizabethan dress. Some will forever maintain that the language is a hurdle the actors must surmount to get to the emotional truth of the play, while others proclaim that the language is everything. Everyone has an opinion and everyone will defend that opinion as plain fact.

The current Storm Theatre offering of As You Like It does not take a firm stance on either side of the debate, but what it does is perhaps more important: it entertains. At the end of the day, Shakespeare is meant to be experienced, not studied, and Artistic Director Peter Dobbins and his cast give their audience a truly delightful theatrical experience. ( As You Like It closes this weekend, with shows Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, at the Theatre of the Church of Notre Dame (114th Street and Morningside Park).

There are many tried and true trappings to be found, including sibling rivalry, mistaken identity, and, of course, love at first sight. What makes As You Like It special is its spot on commentary on the nature of humanity’s most basic struggles: with loyalty, love, selfishness, and survival. This production does not shed any new light on the play’s themes, but wisely focuses on Shakespeare’s wit and warmth, allowing the audience to delight in the escapades and truisms of some of the canon’s most beloved characters and draw their own conclusions.

Rosalind (played by Erin Teresa Beirnard, a Storm Theatre veteran) and Orlando (played by Mauricio Tafur Salgado) have been denied their proper inheritance and are therefore forced to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Rosalind’s father, Duke Senior, has been usurped by his younger brother Duke Frederick (both played by Joe Danbusky), and is living in the Forest of Arden with his loyal followers. Rosalind is originally allowed to stay at court as a companion to Duke Frederick’s daughter Celia (Laura Bozzone), till banished by her uncle, jealous of her reputation. Celia chooses to flee the court with her.

Rosalind and Orlando meet at Duke Frederick’s court, before he is also exiled. Their instant love is thwarted as quickly as it began, sparking their mutual quests not only for a new home but also each other.

As You Like It would not be an authentic Shakespearean comedy without the element of identity confusion, in this case created by Rosalind’s decision to dress up as a boy in order to protect herself and Celia. Disguising themselves as brother and sister, and bringing the court fool Touchstone (played by Dinh Q. Doan) along, the girls find a new home amongst poor shepherds in the Forest of Arden not far from Rosalind’s father.

Coincidentally, Orlando has also found himself in the Forest, and makes the acquaintance of Rosalind, believing her to be Ganymede, the young shepherd she is pretending to be. The two strike up a friendship, allowing Rosalind to discover just how true Orlando’s love is for the lady he remembers so fondly.

As You Like It boasts one of Shakespeare’s most jarringly random and convenient plot endings, but as in so many of Shakespeare’s plays, it is on the journey that the truth can be discovered, not at the destination. The quick wrap-up is an added amusement, not a disappointment. Shakespeare had already made his point. Rosalind and Orlando ultimately learn the virtues of trust and faith, a lesson that will help make the new world that they create together better than the ones they have left behind.

Peter Dobbins’ decision to set his production of As You Like It in the Spanish colonies of the New World is a curious one, but the choice provides a unique and welcome spin to the usual forest setting. The frequent mentions of the “desert place” that the characters find themselves in allow the audience members to envision a different type of solitary existence, one of wide-open spaces instead of claustrophobic shelter.

The costume and sound design choices (created by Laura Tabor Bacon and David A. Thomas respectively) reflect a mixture of old world Elizabethan familiarity and new world Mexican flavor, which can distract, but ultimately illustrate the physical and spiritual journey that Orlando, Rosalind, and indeed every character makes throughout the show: a journey from a life that was comfortable but constricting to a new one that is liberating and full of possibility.

The Storm Theatre’s basement space of The Theatre of the Church of Notre Dame is once again transformed by Ken Larson’s simple set. The audience sits on two sides of the long runway style stage, with the Forest of Arden at one end and the architecture of the court at the other. This design provides the audience with a physical reminder of the two worlds the characters are trapped between.

Most of the cast handles the complexity of Shakespeare’s language deftly, allowing the quick wit of the verse to be easily followed. It is an unfortunate reality that in many contemporary Shakespeare productions, little attention is paid to making sure the actors actually know what they are saying. A general understanding of the emotional overtones of any given speech is thought to be sufficient, which lessens the entire impact of the play. This is not the case at all with Storm’s production, and the care obviously taken with the language during rehearsal pays off immensely.

Mauricio Salgado brings the perfect blend of angst-filled scrappiness and love-sick poetry to Orlando. Erin Beinard’s Rosalind is wistful and brave, and appealingly girly despite her boyish disguise. Laura Bozzone’s Celia is a little heavy handed on the earnestness early in the play, but her portrayal mellows alongside her character into a spirited warmth and charm as the story progresses. Dinh Q. Doan’s Touchstone blasts through the Fool’s wisdom at lightning speed, occasionally giving the audience whiplash; but his physical commitment to the character’s clowning is impeccable.

Joe Danbusky blithely switches between the harsh ambition and jealousy of Duke Frederick and the patient acceptance and serenity of Duke Senior with complete commitment to each character. Peter Dobbins’s portrayal of Jacques, the melancholy introspective attendant of Duke Senior, fills his character with an intriguing blend of pathos and dry humor, and every character that Gregory Couba touches sparkles with spot on comedic timing and mirth.

As a whole, the Storm Theatre’s production of As You Like It is an enjoyable and satisfying theatrical experience. Dobbins wisely left out the theatrical tricks and frills that many directors tack on to Shakespeare to “keep it relevant,” allowing a simple and straightforward interpretation of the play. The enthusiasm and enjoyment of the cast is infectious, hooking the audience from the beginning.

In one of the play’s most beloved passages, the character of Jacques maintains that “all the world is a stage.” This may be true, but many stages do not create worlds worth inhabiting. The Storm Theatre and Blackfriar’s Reparatory Company (with a little help from Shakespeare, of course) have conjured up a delightful world worth a visit where faith, hope and love reign, all governed by a great deal of wit.

Monica R. Weigel is a teaching artist and director in New York City. She holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Theatre from New York University’s Steinhardt School.

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Paul Claudel’s Home in New York

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:01:00 -0500

The Satin Slipper , the ambitious second installment of The Paul Claudel Project by The Storm Theatre and Blackfriars Repertory Theatre, makes no pretense about being anything but epic in scope. The audience is told at the very beginning that “the scene of our play is the world,” and that comprehension of everything being played out on the stage will come slowly. The themes are complex and the poetic language is dense. The genius of Peter Dobbins’ production is that he manages to give this epic play a beautifully intimate home, allowing the audience to grapple with the spiritual content of The Satin Slipper on an accessible human plane.

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