“The Beauty Queen of Leenane” at the Gamm Theatre

By Richard Pacheco

The current production at the Gamm Theatre is “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” the 1996 black comedy by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh which premiered at the Druid Theatre Company in Galway, Ireland.  The Gamm does it justice with some strong performances packing emotional impact with dark humor in often equal doses. It is a compelling as watching a car wreck in action and you are unable to look away.

The play also enjoyed successful runs at London's West End, Broadway and Off-Broadway. It was nominated for an Olivier Award as Best Play for the London production, and the 1998 Broadway production was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning four, for Best Leading Actress in a Play, Best Featured Actor in a Play, Best Featured Actress in a Play and Best Direction of a Play.

The play is a blend of black comedy, melodrama, horror and bleak tragedy. The story is set in the Irish village of Leenane, Connemara in the early 1990s. It takes place entirely in a shabby, poorly-lit kitchen, resulting in a claustrophobic sense of entrapment.

The play centers on the life of Maureen Folan, a 40-year-old spinster who takes care of her selfish and manipulative 70-year-old mother Mag. Maureen's sisters have escaped into marriage and family life, but Maureen, with a history of mental illness, is trapped in a seriously dysfunctional relationship with her mother.

The Folan cottage is visited by Pato Dooley and his younger brother Ray. Pato is a middle-aged construction worker fed up with having to live and work in England, disappointed by the limitations and loneliness of his life. The day-to-day sameness is tedious also for Ray, a non-threatening "bad boy". 

The glimmer of a last-chance romance between Maureen and Pato sparks up in the first act, and continues in the second one with a notable monologue of Pato. The plot, full of deceptions, secrets and betrayals interspersed with turnabouts, keeps surprising the audience. Hopes are raised only to be dashed.

Wendy Overly is Meg Folan, the manipulative hag who shares a shabby cottage with her spinster daughter. She pretends to be ill, is domineering and demanding and makes her daughter’s life a living hell. It is a brilliant performance, riveting and compelling, by turns funny and chilling.

Jeanine Kane is her daughter, Maureen, who is dutiful and obedient of her mother’s relentless demands, but not without taking her share of barbs at the cantankerous old woman. Kane is wonderful in the role, she sparkles as a woman caught between her desires and the reality which dashes them to pieces by continual betrayals. .

Joe Short is the fidgety, young neighbor, Ray Dooley. He is a mass of twitching, never still energy, always moving, always talking relentlessly. He is a sort of tame bad boy who manages to be bored more than bad, occasionally stealing things usually of little value. He is obsessed with television, watching it religiously. Short is on the mark with the role, capturing the restlessness and character traits with skill and endless energy.

Steve Kidd is Ray’s brother Pato. He is a man fed up with having to work in England and the prejudice he finds aimed at him there for being Irish. He wants more out of life than he has had so far and it seems that Maureen, who he has liked for years, but been fretful of approaching offers him a way out of the humdrum monotonous world for her and him. Kidd is excellent in the role and particularly shines in his monologue which opens the second act in a blend of humor and pathos.

The cast works well together and create a vivid and convincing whole that delights and disturbs with equal doses, both sublime.

Director Judith Swift manages the fine balance between humor and chilling undertones with skill and assurance.  The accents coached by Overly are wonderful and precise.

The set design by Michael McGarty is a masterpiece of intricate details, all adding up to a rich whole. Marilyn Salvatore’s costumes are perfect.

McDonagh has a rich, dark streak of humor and the ability to combine that with some chilling and disturbing topics and this is no exception. The result here is riveting theater which amuses while it disturbs.

“The Beauty Queen of Leenane” at Gamm runs through June 2, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket. Tickets are $36-$45. Call (401) 723-4266, or visit gammtheatre.org.