“Good People” at the Gamm Theatre

by Richard Pacheco

“Good People,” currently at the Gamm Theatre, is a 2011 play by David Lindsay-Abaire. The world premiere was staged by the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City. The production was nominated for two 2011 Tony Awards – Best Play and Best Leading Actress in a Play (Frances McDormand), with the latter winning. Abaire received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play “Rabbit Hole”, which also earned several Tony Award nominations. The production at the Gamm shines with an excellent cast, with solid direction and a simply fascinating play.

The show began previews on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on February 8, 2011, and opened on March 3. “Good People” was directed by Daniel J. Sullivan and starred Frances McDormand as Margie and Tate Donovan as Mike. Other cast members were Becky Ann Baker as Jean, Patrick Carroll as Stevie, Estelle Parsons as Dottie, and Renée Elise Goldsberry as Kate The creative team included sets by John Lee Beatty, costumes by David Zinn, and lighting by Pat Collins.The limited engagement run concluded on May 29, 2011, after 101 regular performances and 27 previews.^[

It is Southie, where playwright Abaire grew up and the class battle is about to begin between a still trapped in Southie single mom and ”Dr. Mike” the lace curtain Irish man who worked his way out to a bigger and brighter lifestyle and greater success. Margie Walsh is a single mom with a severely disabled daughter and she loses her job at a South Boston Dollar store. At the prompting of her lifelong friend, she seeks out her high school boyfriend, now highly successful for a new job. He is light years away from Southie now in the carefully manicured lawns of Chestnut Hill. It all takes on a darker twist when she realizes that a secret from their past might prove a powerful weapon in her quest for success.

Jeanine Kane is Margaret, a woman devoted to her severely disabled daughter, Joyce, supposedly born prematurely, and whose life is fraught with one disaster after another, the most recent, losing her job at the Dollar Store and the worst possible time. She is very much working class, stuck in her roots and never able to transcend them in any way, yet still determined to make a better life for herself and her daughter. They "are only a single paycheck away from desperate straits.” Kane is wonderful in the role, with a terrific accent and that is totally convincing and she exudes a sincerity that is inviting and appealing.

Margaret Melozzi is Margaret’s landlady, Dottie. Dottie is definitely working class and spends her time not just babysitting Margaret’s disabled daughter Joyce, but in making kitsch bunnies at night at home. Melozzi is very funny as Dottie, full of flair and energy, making a convincing performance.

Casey Seymour Kim is Margaret’s long time friend and bosom buddy, Jean, who has a harsh mouth and is totally blunt and outspoken about everything and everyone. Kim is marvelous as the gruff, no nonsense Jean, who gets to the heart of the matter without mincing words or worrying about hurting feelings. Yet she has a heart to her and is genuinely caring. Kim shows this off effectively, balancing the hard edge with the caring attentiveness with skill and style.

Bill Mootos is Dr. Mike, a man who worked himself out of his humble beginnings and now is finically very successful and relegates that earlier portion of his life to a dark dim corner of memory. Mootos is excellent in the role as a sincere man who has put his past behind him, but is in fact, a “good person” despite the difficulties it brings up in his current life. Mootos is sincere and effecting in the role. He has some great scenes with Margaret when they are verbally fencing. They are robust and riveting, full of sass and wit.

Mia Ellis is Kim, Dr. Mike’s younger African American wife, well educated and sophisticated she is very much aware of where she and her husband are in terms of social status and yet does not believe his tales of the hood and his beginnings. Ellis is poised and convincing in the role as someone aware of her status yet full of compassion for those less fortunate like Margaret.

Then there is Marc Dante Mancini as Stevie, Margaret’s former boss at the Dollar store who feels badly about having to fire her and the repercussions it reverberates in her life. He is kind hearted, but caught between a rock and a hard place with Margaret’s continual showing up late for work, with the bosses coming down on him for not coming down on her hard enough and now forcing him to fire her. Mancini is bright and earnest, truly heartfelt in the role, evoking convincingly his tribulation between his duty to his job to fire Margaret and his personal compassion to help her.

Rachel Walsh directs with a deft touch, balancing the comedy and touching moments with equal flair. She keeps it all on an even keel, bringing out the honest and sincerity of her performers.

Jessica Hill’s set design is imaginative and lovely. She makes it very versatile and flexible and it all works very well, from the Bingo parlor setting to the Dollar Store to the Chestnut Hill elegant home.

It is a compelling and intriguing production with a fascinating play lying underneath it all, propelled by solid and sensitive acting and strong direction.

At the Gamm Theatre through Dec.8. Tickets are $36 and $45, depending on the day and time. For tickets, call the box office at 401-723-4266 or gammtheatre.org