PHOTO BY MARY YOUNG
Left to right, Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson, Samantha Fletcher, Sarah Reisch and Alyssa Shultz play four of the five Mundy sisters who are the focus of the play.
Widely regarded as Brian Friel’s masterpiece, Dancing at Lughnasa was the winner of the 1992 Tony Award for Best Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Broadway Play and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. It was also chosen by Time magazine as one of the 10 best plays for 1991, with the reviewer describing it as “the most elegant and rueful memory play since The Glass Menagerie.” The New York Times noted: “…This play does exactly what theater was born to do, carrying both its characters and audience aloft on those waves of distant music and ecstatic release that, in defiance of all language and logic, let us dance and dream just before night must fall.”
This deservingly lauded play runs only one weekend at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, and in order to do a write-up, I attended a rehearsal last week – well before the show was to open. Even without all the final pieces in place, this lyrical play with its talented cast and likable characters was already living up its sterling reputation.
It’s 1936 in the fictional rural town of Ballybag, Ireland, and a portrait is painted for us of the five Mundy sisters (loosely based on the lives of Friel’s mother and aunts) through the memories of one of the sisters’ grown sons, Michael. His narration, as he reminisces about his time as a child living with his mother and aunts, recalls a particular point in time. It’s early August, around the Celtic harvest festival of Lughnasadh, at which the sisters long to celebrate, seeking respite from their sparse lives. Currently, their only escape is by playing a newly acquired radio they’ve nicknamed Marconi. It works only intermittently, but brightens their home and spirits, leading the women to outbursts of ecstatic dancing.
There are also some new challenges the sisters are facing – their missionary brother, Jack, has returned to town. He is suffering from malaria and brings a rumored scandal with him. There are also concerns about the primary means of employment for the family, now looking doubtful, and a secondary means of income is hanging by literal threads. In addition, Michael’s father has made a surprise appearance, all in the midst of the country navigating being caught between ancient traditions and Catholic expectations. While the women long for relief from their doldrums and financial insecurity, there are growing tensions and concerns over rising paganism within the community.
Solidly directed by James Daniels, the play stars Samantha Fletcher as Agnes, Eric Flick as Jerry, Kevin Klein as Uncle Jack, Thomas Phinney as the narrator, Michael, Sarah Reisch as Rose, Alyssa Shultz as Christine, Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson as Kate, and Aasne Vigesaa as Margaret. All of the actors revel in their roles and excel in this wonderful piece, with lilting Irish brogues and nuanced, memorable performances.
Daniels said about the play: “It’s about the love of family and how they support each other through uncertainly. We witness Michael re-experiencing his love for his aunts and theirs for him, and the story highlights their respective roles in the family. It’s a drama with a lot of humor and that Irish sense of resiliency.”
Aasne Vigesaa is a cofounder of the White Horse production company which, in partnership with the Hoogland, is presenting the play. She said Dancing at Lughnasa taps into her long-standing interest in Irish culture.
“I have been interested in Ireland, and all things Irish, since I was in high school,” Vigesaa said. “It’s one of the reasons James (Daniels) and I keep going back to Irish-themed plays: Outside Mullingar, The Playboy of the Western World and now Dancing at Lughnasa.”
Of the play and the experience, she said, “It’s a great piece for strong women. The story is simple, but the relationships are complex and nuanced. The sisters love each other, tease each other, worry about each other, defend each other, get frustrated with each other and share an emotional journey that spans the spectrum from wild joy to deep anxiety over what the future holds. I am so proud to have had the opportunity to work with these fine actors.”
Even from the rehearsal that I saw, it was clear audiences are going to enjoy this one.
Dancing at Lughnasa
The play will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 6; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7; and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 8., plus 2 p.m. Sunday, June 8. Tickets are $22 for adults or $20 for seniors over 60 and students. Call 217-523-2787 or go to hcfta.org to reserve tickets. The play will be presented in the Club Room on the third floor of the Hoogland Center for the Arts.