Oak
Park Festival Theatre
"Dancing at Lughnasa" set photo
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo
OAK
PARK
FESTIVAL THEATRE Presents
"Dancing at Lughnasa"
by Brian
Friel
"Dancing at Lughnasa" (Loonasaa) by Brian Friel is a fun
wandering drama of five single sisters (known as spinsters
in days gone by) and their varied lives of existence, and add
to that an ill ex-Catholic priest with 25 years of helping
lepers in Uganda-who has now gone native (surrenders his
beliefs in Christianity for African tribal gods and ceremonies) and a
bastard son of one of the unmarried women.
The first paragraph alone should have made you think of a
mixed drink right around the corner, or perhaps straight from
the bottle of life. The title 'Dancing at Lughnasa' is taken from
the festival honoring the Irish God 'Lugh' and his in turn honoring his foster-mother who took care of him and later died
during the clearing of a forest to make room for people to have fields where they could plant their crops and feed their families.
The harvest which takes place on the first of August honors
the earth's crops that will sustain life of the children of the
earth.
Dancing at Lughnasa is set in August of 1936 in a fictional
town called Ballybeg (small town in Irish) and could just have
been 'Our Town's' Grover's Corners except it is a wilder ride
(nothing to do with Thorton) and with everyone having a good Irish brogue and a relatively quick wit. The character Michael
Evans, played by Brian Simmons, serves as the narrator of the
drama and takes us back in time to 1936 when he was but a
wee lad of seven.
We are transported in time clearly when Michael enters the
large cottage and removes musty sheets from the furniture.
In a short moment of time we are back many years as we find the lively Mundy sisters coming and going from the kitchen. Kate Mundy and her sisters Maggie, Agnes, Rosie, and Christina all live together and appear to sort most things out just fine. The Dancing with, for, or at the time of Lughnasa is
a bit of contrast with the clearly Catholic views expressed in
the family. The portrait of Christ on the wall reminds us of
the professed religion of the gals, but the dancing to the Marconi radio gives a little lean into the direction of the Irish
God of the season 'Lugh' (Lou).
The Lord's name is often used in vain to express a view with
a little extra meaning from time to time, but it all pales when
we later meet their brother Jack, who's returning from Africa with a devestated demeanor caused by malaria infections and
a bit of a twisted outlook in addition to a lot of forgotten English vocabulary, and with a bewildered countenance.
We find later that his entire theology has gone through a topsy turvy metamorphosis. The ironies are many and played well
by the cast. The good natured gals are supported truly by only one of the sisters, Kate, who is a school teacher. The other sisters each do their part, but to different amounts and in different directions.
Later on, Michael's dad arrives, and from time to time he
appears to seek some more of mom's love. Gerry, Michael's father, played by Dennis Grimes, loves to dance with the
women and going on about this sales job and the other.
He begins by talking about selling dance lessons and then
his new product, gramaphones. When he arrives to see
Christina, played by Jhenai Mootz, (Michael's mother)
he acts as though it has only been a short time of absence
instead of the 13 months it has become. Christina quickly
shows her desire to see him and soon they're off dancing
outside. On another visit he informs Christina that he
plans to enlist in the International Brigade to fight in
the Spanish Civil War.
The acting is superb, the choreography is great and looks
natural and spontaneous at each move, the sets and lights
are done well, and sound was tuned just right. There was
some confusion people had with Michael being in a scene
as a supposed youth and smoking a cigarette. The smoking
on his part could go and either increase his distance from the
event or perhaps give him a kids hat to wear, one that does
not fit..
Wonderful show, writing, performance, setting, and some
lighter moments with the irony here and there. A home run
for the Oak Park Festival Theatre. Get your tickets and bring
some friends.
Ticket
Prices:
Thursdays & Sundays - $22 Adults
Thursdays & Sundays - $17 Seniors/Students
Fridays thru Saturdays - $27 Adults
Friday thru Saturdays - $22 Seniors/Students
Thursdays & Sundays - $22 Adults
Thursdays & Sundays - $17 Seniors/Students
Fridays thru Saturdays - $27 Adults
Friday thru Saturdays - $22 Seniors/Students
Awards
1991 Evening Standard Award for Best Play
1991 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play
1992 New York Drama Critics' Circle Best Play
1992 Tony Award for Best Play
Nominations
1992 Drama Desk Award for Best New Play
1991 Evening Standard Award for Best Play
1991 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play
1992 New York Drama Critics' Circle Best Play
1992 Tony Award for Best Play
Nominations
1992 Drama Desk Award for Best New Play
Dancing at Lughnasa
Cast & Crew
Belinda Bremner - Director (Member, Actors Equity Association)
Robert W. Behr - Stage Manager (Member, Actors Equity Association)
Brian Simmons - Michael
Mary Michell - Kate (Member, Actors Equity Association)
Barbara Zahora - Maggie (Member, Actors Equity Association)
Martha Murphy - Agnes
Lydia Berger - Rose
Jhenai Mootz - Chrissy
Dennis Grimes - Gerry
Donald Brearley - Father Jack (Member, Actors Equity Association)
Understudies - Martha Murphy and Dallas Mulholland
Jack Hickey - Artistic Director
Martha Murphy - Choreographer
Tramon A. Crofford - Prop Design
Jeremy Getz - Light Design
Elsa Hiltner - Costume Design
Kyle Irwin - Sound Design
Paul Martin - Production Assistant
Kevin McCauley - Prop Master
Ursula Forhan - Costume Mistress
Katrin Sticha - Costume Assistant
Stephanie Avalos-Bock - Sound Board Operator
Kelly C. Smith - Light Board Operator
David Wawzenek - Management Assistant
Jessie Affelder - Graphic Artist
Michael Rothman - Photographer
Galen Gockel - Managing Director
Mary Cowart - Box Office Manager
It was made into a film in 1998 and starred Meryl Streep as Kate Mundy. You can purchase the film or rent it on Netflix.
Some History of the Festival of Lughnasa
Outdoors in Austin Gardens, 100 block of N. Forest, Oak Park. Get directions to Austin Gardens
Parking in garage on Forest, across from theatre gate entrance.
"Dancing at Lughnasa" full cast photo by Michael Rothman
OAK PARK FESTIVAL THEATRE
Brian
Friel's masterpiece "Dancing at Lughnasa" opens a
five week outdoor run at Oak Park Festival Theatre on Friday, July 23.
The story of five unmarried sisters living together in rural Ireland during the 1930's earned Friel the 1992 Tony "Best Play" award, as well as the top award of the New York Drama Critics Circle.
We meet the Mundy sisters in their spare kitchen near the village of Ballybeg at the time of Lughnasa, a festival which celebrates the pagan harvest god with dancing and boistrous revelry. At the same time, they are intrigued by a new invention, the radio, whose music - condemned by the church - introduces them to a world beyond their traditional, limited existence.
The story is told by Michael, the out-of-wedlock son of one
of the sisters, as he remembers their life together in 1936, a
young boy raised by his mother and her four sisters. He recalls
meeting his father for the first time, a charming drifter who
arrives at the household unexpectedly and then departs .
The New York Times praised the play's ability to portray
those forces which "in defiance of all language and logic, let
us dance and dream just before night must fall."
The play will be offered on Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., and on Sundays at 7 p.m. It will close on August 23.
The Oak Park Festival Theater is located in Austin Gardens, adjacent to Oak Park's downtown at Lake Street and Forest Avenue.
Further information is available at 708 / 445 - 4440 and
http://www.oakparkfestival.com/Close to home and intimate. Free parking for the
night shows right across the street from Austin
Gardens. Austin Gardens is right behind the
Lake Theater on Lake and Forest Ave.
Ticket Prices:
Thursdays & Sundays - $22 Adults
Thursdays & Sundays - $17 Seniors/Students
Fridays thru Saturdays - $27 Adults
Friday thru Saturdays - $22 Seniors/Students
Outdoors in Austin Gardens, 100 block of N. Forest, Oak Park. Get directions to Austin Gardens
Parking in garage on Forest, across from theatre gate entrance.
© Suburban Journals of Chicago
published by Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
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