Legally Blonde” at Ocean State Theatre Company

By Richard Pacheco

            “Legally Blonde” at the Ocean State Theatre Company is a merry musical romp that’s loads of fun, marked by some  sassy dance numbers and solid singing. Based on the book by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. with the music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. It received seven Tony nominations and ten Drama Desk nominations but failed to win any. It opened in London in 2010 and was nominated for five Olivier awards and it won three including Best Musical.

It tells the tale of Elle, full of verve and energy, the poster girl for cheerleader and sorority girl. At the end of her senior year in high school, her boyfriend, Warner,  dumps her when he heads off to Harvard Law to pursue a more respectable and “serious” girl. Not being one to let that stop her, Elle works her tail off to follow him to Harvard Law and makes it. When she arrives, she ends up in a top notch class that selects a scant four interns to work with a well known lawyer The only friendly face she encounters there is from a young law teaching assistant, Emmett. But it is not an auspicious beginning in his class and the trouble seems to ride as Elle get kicked out when Vivienne, Warner’s new girlfriend, turns the tables on her. Elle decides it is because she is blonde and goes to get her hair dyed when she meets a new best friend, Paulette, a beautician. Everything comes to a head when the law professor is chosen to defend a female fitness guru and selects Elle for his vaunted team.

It’s a merry romp always underscored by the note to be who you are no matter what and no matter what it takes.

Alyssa Gorgone is Elle the epitome of the sorority girl, the mold for the mold, who transforms into who she really is, smart, spunky and determined. Ms. Gorgone is perky, poised and energetic in the role, eminently likeable, someone to cheer for.  She delivers a wonderful performance, full of sass and spunk

Adam Ryan Tackett is the young legal assistant, Emmett, who support and encourages Elle when it seems like no one else will. Mr. Tackett is energetic and effective in the role, convincing us of his sincere concern for Ell and brining out the best in her. He is sheer delight in his duet with Elle, “Legally Blonde” and the song when Elle is getting him a classier suit, “Take it Like A Man.,” another great duet.

Nicole Paloma Sarro is Paulette, from the hairdressing salon, who from the first supports Elle to be who she is with down to earth observations and humor. Ms. Sarro is a comic delight in the role, a solid singer and someone with impeccable comic timing. He is wonderful singing “Ireland” and later in “Bend and Snap.”

Christopher Swan is the ruthless Professor Callahan, a lawyer determined to win at all costs, all else be damned. Mr. Swan oozes sleazy in the role, making your skin crawl when facing such a nefarious creature. He really shines in his song, “Blood in the Water.”

Laura Scherf is Vivienne, Warner’s new, more serious girlfriend. She is poised, snobbish and confident with a streak of nastiness when it comes to Elle. Ms. Scherf is poised and oozes a venous streak when it comes to Elle with rare flair and style.

I have to mention here Michael J. Borges who plays multiple roles but really shines as Kyle, a UPS guy who ends up interested in Paulette. He steals any scene he is in with his exaggerated comic, “I’m too Sexy” strut and mannerisms. He is a hoot.

Several other standouts include Maria Logan as fitness guru Brooke, Sean Maddox as pool boy Nikos and Meghan Lydon as Brooke’s stepdaughter, Chutney.

There is a large supporting cast and they are a delight too, from the Greek Chorus to various salespeople who prance through the play. There are many fun songs along the way here, from the opening fun number, “Omigod You Guys” sung by Elle and a host of others, “The Harvard Variations” Emmett, Elle and many others to “The Scene of the Crime” sung by Elle and company.

Director choreographer Russell Garrett keeps everything gliding merrily along at a cheerful pace. He keeps the dances perky and fun, keeping it all lively and enjoyable. It is a very merry romp that cavorts cheerfully along.

Musical director Justin P. Cowan keeps the music brisk, bright and fun with no dull spots. Scenic designer Brett Scott delivers a simple yet highly effective set, deftly able to do multiple duties. Costume designer Brian Horton keeps everything fresh, fun and appealing.

Through July 18. Tickets: $39 to $49.

OCEAN STATE THEATRE COMPANY

@ 1245 Jefferson Boulevard, WARWICK RI

1(401)921-6800

“The Mousetrap” at 2nd Story Theatre

By Richard Pacheco

            Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” is the world’s longest running play. It has run continuously since 1957 when the toast of London Noel Coward fired off a telegram to Dame Agatha to congratulate her on the play being the longest running play in West London. It opened in 1952 and hasn’t stopped since and the current production at 2^nd Story makes it easy to see why. It is a fun filled romp loaded with twist and turns and dark bits of humor throughout, brought vividly to life by a wining cast, impeccable directing and a gorgeous set.

The tale is set on a stormy evening in a remote, snowbound guesthouse. Eight strangers—or are they—are stranded and one of them may be a murderer. There has been a murder in London and the police believe the murder is next on their way to Monkswell Manor to claim a second and possible a third victim. Who is the killer? The spinster from a foreign land? The foppish architect? The strange foreigner who appears out of nowhere unannounced?  The cranky old woman displeased with everything? The retired British major?

Erin Elliott is Mollie Ralston, the young woman who owns Monkswell with her husband. She is green to the host business and very kind and caring. Ms. Elliot is wondrous as Mollie, a perfect balance of naiveté and determination to make it all work out.

Dillion Medina is her husband, Giles, who has a temper and truly loves his wife. Mr. Medina is a winning blend of charming attentiveness for his wife and distrust towards the others which only grows as the play progresses.

Ben Church is a delight as the foppish architect, Christopher Wren, whose dark sense of humor and at times irritating manner infuriate the others. Mr. Church is admirable as Wren with just the right manners and mannerisms to be totally convincing.

Paula Faber is Mrs. Boyle, a cranky always discontented woman who never has a good word to say about anything or anyone at the manor. She is haughty and condescending, very uppity. Ms. Fisher handles it with panache. She is wonderfully irritating and annoying.

F. William Oakes is the retired Major Metcalf who arrives with her. He seems the typical upper crust British military man, full of manners and methods. Mr. Oakes is outstanding in the role, poised and precise, the epitome of British military manners.

Erin Olson is the spinsterish Miss Casewell, a bit distant and secretive, dressed like a man with male mannerisms and attitude. Ms. Olson is impeccable as the distant, distrustful woman who seems to have secrets to hide.

Vince Petronio is Mr. Paravacini, a foreigner with a dark sense of humor who shows up because his car plunged into a snow bank and he is forced to seek shelter at the manor. He has an air of mystery which he only compounds with his evasions of questions directed at him. Mr. Petronio is the right blend of charming and sleazy in the role.

Ara Boghigian is Det. Sgt. Trotter, who shows up to investigate after the police believe that yet at least one more murder will occur at the manor, somehow tied into the one in London. Mr. Boghigian is excellent in the role, the model of British police efficiency and determination.

            Co directed by Pat Hegnauer and Ed Shea it glides along effortlessly through its contorted plot twists propelled by dark humor and some nice touches along the way.

The set design by Trevor Elliot is impeccable, a lavish highly convincing evocation of an English Manor house with large banisters, bookcases, fireplace and a large window through which snow can be seen falling.

Ron Cessario’s costumes are impeccable and detailed, a sheer delight.

This production is pure delight from beginning to end. The talented cast is vivid and vibrant full of dark humor and energy, a wonder to watch. This is pure summer fun that makes it all a merry ride into murder and dark humor with style and flair. It is a treat from beginning to end. This cast is sheer fun together.

I saw “The Mousetrap” when I was in London in the 1980’s at the famed Covent Garden Theater where it is doing its run and this production is just as much fun with just as much finesse as that one.

“The Mousetrap”

It will be presented at Second Story Theatre, 28 Market Street, Warren, RI in repertory with Jack Sharkey’s murder spoof, “The Murder Room,” until September 1. Tickets are$25 and under 21 for $20. 401-247-4200 or http://www.2ndstorytheatre.com/tixfaq.htm

“Cats” at Theatre by the Sea

By Richard Pacheco

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats” has been a perennial favorite of audiences since it opened in 1981, when it opened at the New London Theatre, then moved to its NYC production at the Winter Harden Theatre in 1982. It is now the second show at Bill Haney’s Theatre by the Sea for their 80^th season and will no doubt prove still a solid favorite sparked by some luscious singing and fine performances. What little story there is revolves around the meeting of the Jellicoe Cats who get together for their junkyard ball annually to decide which cat will be reborn. The show won seven Tony awards in 1983 including Best Musical and Best Score for composer Sir Andrew. It was based on T.S. Elliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” and has no spoken dialogue in it. It has been translated into 20 languages and played worldwide. It ended its run in the US after 18 years and 7,485 performances.

It is a delightful accumulation of vignettes, with no real story or plot behind it.  It is sheer entertainment, flashy, splashy and fun. The multitude of feline characters gets their moment to prance their stuff throughout in their nighttime celebration. The cast is energetic and talented, singing in harmony in the ensemble numbers with skill and verve. The show opens with the energetic and splashy ensemble number, “Jellicoe Songs” which the cast delivers with fire and skill. The show focuses on various cats as they cavort in their night celebration. Each of the cast members has their moment to shine from the crowd and make the most of it. With each new episode it builds towards that moment when one of the cats will been reborn, and ascend to their new lives in grand style.

It is Grizabella, played by Katy Blake with poise and finesse. She sings “Grizabella, The Glamour Cat” with skill and assurance.  When she sings the most famous song from the show, “Memory” later on, she delivers a lyrical, haunting version that is unforgettable.

The patriarch of the feline gathering is Old Deuteronomy, well played by Peter Adams. Old Deuteronomy guides and leads the other cats with a world knowledge and experience the other respect. He is a large old cat who has lived many lives and Mr. Adams makes the most of the role. He has a strong voice and sings with passion.

Another standout cat is magical Mistofelees played with raw energy by Craig Donnelly. His dancing is deft and amazing, one of the highlights of the evening’s choreography, full of sass and style, simply dazzling.

“Mugojerrie and Rumpleteezer” sung by Sharrod Williams and Hilary Porter is a merry fun filled romp abut two mischievous cats who like take things and deliver some fun antics with their dancing and singing.

Chris Stevens struts his stuff as rock and roller Rum Tum Tugger” and shines in his song which he punctuates with plenty of rock and roll bumps and grinds. Ian Parmenter shines as the musical’s emcee, Munkustrap with zesty energy and flair.

“Macavity” sung by Jeremy Benussan (as Macavity),  Rachel Boone (as Demeter), Blayne Gregg-Miller (as Bombalorina) and Ian Parmenter ( Munkustrap) delight in the tale of the mysterious criminal master mind cat, Macavity. Whenever you get to the scene of the crime, Macavity’s not there. It is winsome and fun.  Lucy Horton as Jellyorum and Felipe Barbosa Bombonato as Asparagus are pure delight singing in “Gus: The Theatre Cat” with vibrant voices and deft moves.

There are more musical treat galore in the show which is more spectacle than anything, but enjoyable fun.

Director choreographer Richard Stafford keeps the cast on their toes, managing to squeeze some often deft dancing in the limiting space.

Musical Director Milton Granger keeps everything on the mark, with enthusiastic and energetic musical directions. He gets the best out of the ensemble songs, rich energetic and fun. 

I have seen the show twice before, once in NYC and then again with the national touring company in Boston. The stage at Theatre By the Sea is smaller than either of the other theaters and they make good use of it although it does limit them somewhat. For example in the other productions there is a large tire which is prominent in the set which is not here in this production. Scenic designer Anthony R. Phelps manages his way around stage size limitations deftly, creating multiple heights for the various parts of the stage and evoking a junkyard setting.

The costumes by the Kansas Costume Company are delightful and close to the original Broadway costumes. They show a flair for fantasy and playfulness with feline overtones.

The sound and lighting in this show have a particular impact towards enhancing the overall mood and flavor. The lighting design by Bailey Costa does the job really well. The sound by Leon Rothenberg is rich and vivid.

"Cats" (19 June - 13 July)

Theatre By The Sea

364 Card Pond Road, Matunuck, RI

(401) 782-8587

“The Exonerated” at 2nd Story Theatre

By Richard Pacheco

While most theater companies plunge into summer with light hearted plays or sheer comedies, 2^nd Story has propelled itself into summer with an often compelling indictment of the judicial system in America, called “The Exonerated” a play culled from  real life from interviews, court documents, letters and case files complied by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen. These ordinary people were wrongly convicted and on Death Row,  and one was executed. The resulting drama is chilling and disturbing to witness the legal and moral wrongs involved and the corruption that led innocent people to be sentenced to death.

There is no set. The actors merely stroll about the Bristol Statehouse courtroom telling their tales of woe and miscarried justice. The roots of their failed justice are similar, from cops who railroad then for convictions, or being black in a white man’s world, or being rated out by a professional criminal. Taking its inspiration from real life details, it is a harrowing tale of justice gone awry with tragic consequences.

The tales go from their arrests to their time and death row and its consequences for them and their loved ones. Not only is is disturbing and shocking, it is also at times profoundly moving and touching.

The strength they show is nothing short of amazing as is the humanity they show and how they deal with their circumstances.

Tom Chase’s Gary was talked into confessing to the brutal murder of his parents. He cannot recall committing the crème, but relentless investigators will not let up unto he confesses. The investigators think he might have blocked it out and are looking for a quick solution and he is the target..

Joe Henderson’s Kerry is convicted of the murder of a woman he met once. Her boyfriend, is never a suspect to the police in the charade of justice. In prison, he is gang raped and they cut an obscene and demeaning phrase into his flesh. The repercussions ripple through the years.

Amos Harmrick, Jr. is a man who works at a stable, love horses and finds all that taken away from him even after he is released.

Edward V. Crews is David who laments losing his spark for life in the ordeal.

Joanne Fayan is Sunny, probably one of the most harrowing tales ins these tragedies. She and her husband are convicted on the word of a career criminal who murders tow police officers and blames them for a deal, taking advantage of the system, he who talks first gets the better deal.

The killer eventually recants his testimony, but not before she has been in prison for ten plus years and her husband has been brutally executed. Meanwhile her parents die and her children grow up. Her husband Jesse endurse4 a horrific death, being jabbed with electricity three times and taking thirteen minutes to die. Flames smolder from his head and smoke from his ears.

The two, in order to evade detection by guards write love letters to each other in Japanese, which they got from dictionaries. It is powerful and moving.

Ricardo Pitts-Wiley is Delbert, the poet of the group. He is a black man caught up in a messed up system and still manages to herald the country as a great one in spite of the injustice paid to him. As he puts it,  he is a poet and it’s not easy, but “he sings.”

This production does the same thing. With a stunning cast, it soars past the injustices to leave a passionate and positive view of people overcoming great inequities and difficulties, in a world stacked against them. The terrific cast comes from 2^nd Story and from Mixed Magic Theatre.

Ed Shea directs with a firm touch, keeping the focus on these people overcoming these injustices while maintaining their humanity and the intense character these people find along the way.

“The Exonerated” runs through June 30 at the Bristol County Statehouse courtroom, 240 High Street in Bristol. Tickets are $30. Call 401-247-4200 or go to http://www.2ndstorytheatre.com

“House” and “Garden” at Trinity Rep

By Richard Pacheco

Trinity Rep’s latest offering by English playwright Alan Ayckbourn's "House & Garden" has a single cast performing two plays at the same time. “House” takes place upstairs while “Garden” goes on at the same time downstairs with the same cast. It is almost a live magic act as actors run back and forth between the two sets to perform and it is pure comic delight all the way.        

While the plays are connected, they are also independent productions which can stand alone. You would do yourself a disservice to see only one as both together pack a comic wallop that is sheer fun and a laugh a minute as well as having some touching moments.

            The plot revolves around the annual garden party of Trish and Teddy Platt and brings to a head that their marriage is headed for disaster in fact has been for many years because Teddy does not have the word fidelity in his vocabulary and cannot keep his pants on around other women.

Teddy is not the most secretive of fellows and everyone knows he is having an affair with his best friend’s wife. Only his best friend doesn’t know. Upstairs is the well to do members  and their guests, a marginal French movie stars, a famed mystery writer with political connections and an aim to convince Teddy to follow in the family tradition set my his father, grandfather and great grandfather in politics and run for Parliament. Meanwhile the garden hosts mostly the staff, the hired help like the sullen and cranky gardener, Warn,

Both plays center on Teddy, played with comic aplomb by Fred Sullivan Jr. and the women he is involved with, his wife, Trish played with a chilly distance and flair by Anne Scurria and his mistress the frenetic and crazed Angela Brazil.

Fred Sullivan Jr. Plays Teddy with a flair for his cavalier attitude towards marriage and sex, a charming man who is a total cad to his wife.

Anne Scurria plays Trish, his wife with icy aloofness, borne of years of long suffering knowledge that her marriage is over. She makes it hysterically funny.

Angela Brazil plays Joanna, an elementary school teacher with frantic finesse. When Teddy breaks up with her, she goes completely hysterical and looses it, turning into a total psycho, delusion and violent, ending up in a fist fight with the French movie star in the fountain.

Stephen Throne plays Teddy’s best friend Giles with understated skill. Giles is kind but clueless, nice to the point of being delusional and out of touch with reality—he blames himself for his wife’s affair with no blame at all on her.

There is strong support coming from the rest of the cast. Janice Duclos is sheer fun as the no nonsense housekeeper who is looking for the gardener to be a father to her feisty daughter.  Catherine Dupont is a hoot as her sexually provocative daughter, Pearl. Barry M. Press is a riot as the sullen gardener Warn with few lines but evokes tons of laughter with his body language. Bridget Saracino is on the mark as Teddy and Trish politically motivated daughter who wants to carry on the family tradition in politics. Stephen Jaenhert is delightful as her friend but wannabe boyfriend Jake, who is son to Joanna and Giles.

There is more fine support coming from Joe Wilson Jr., Phyllis Kay (who speaks no English in the role of the actress, just French), and Barbara Meek as well as the ill fitting couple played by Mary C. Davis and Ted Moeller. The children add a delightful touch to it all.

The plays are directed with wacky precision by Brian McEleney who keeps everything right on track and the laughs follow one right after another.

Ackbourn is a theatrical master (with 72 plays produced) and what could be merely an amusing exercise on the page turns into and vital, vibrant and truly funny production onstage with its deft balancing of timing and some touching moments as well.

The Eugene Lee set is a wonder. The upstairs set of the English manor house is perfect with ancestral portraits and stuffed animal heads abounding. The Garden set is a delight of astro turf and columns disguised as impressive trees and a charming fountain.

William Lane’s costume design is on target. Thom Jones dialect coaching is impeccable for all cast members.

"House & Garden" runs through June 30 at Trinity Rep, 201 Washington St., Providence. Tickets are $28-$68. Call (401) 351-4242, or visit trinityrep.com

“The Hallelujah Girls” at Your Theatre

By Richard Pacheco

The Your Theatre production of the Jessie Jones, Jamie Wooten and Nicholas Hope play, “The Hallelujah Girls.” is a merry romp that moves joyously along with a solid cast and fine direction. Hilarity abounds when the feisty females of Eden Falls, Georgia, decide to shake up their lives. The action in this rollicking Southern comedy takes place in SPA-DEE-DAH!, the abandoned church-turned day spa where this group of friends gathers every Friday afternoon. After the loss of a dear friend, the women realize time is precious and if they're going to change their lives and achieve their dreams they have to get on it now! But Sugar Lee, their high-spirited, determined leader, has her hands full keeping the women motivated.

Carlene's given up on romance, having buried three husbands. Nita's a nervous wreck from running interference between her problematic son and his probation officer. Mavis' marriage is so stagnant she's wondering how she can fake her own death to get out of it. And sweet, simple Crystal entertains them all, singing Christmas carols with her own, hilarious lyrics. The comic tension mounts when a sexy, ex-boyfriend shows up unexpectedly, a marriage proposal comes from an unlikely suitor and Sugar Lee's arch rival vows she'll stop at nothing to steal the spa away from her.

Sugar Lee is the caretaker of the bunch who constantly eggs her cohorts in believing in themselves. At the same time, she is sparring with her nemesis, Bunny, and thwarting romantic entanglements from a past lover, Bobby Dwayne. Becky Minard is poised and compelling in the role.

Mavis is a wise-cracking broad who tells it like it is. She'd rather stay out partying in her Sept. years than be with her predictable, blasé spouse. Valerie J. Reynolds is wining in the role, with great delivery of snide quips about Mavis’ marriage and cynicism.

Carlene is a 3-time widow who's wary of going out with another man for fear of his dying on her – again. Elizabeth Rapoza is Carlene. She handles the role with flair and conviction, full of passion, able to balance the character’s self doubt with raw energy.

Crystal lives life with flamboyant flair. She dresses in costume and sings every calendar holiday to the tune of Christmas carols.  Marilyn Ducette is wildly funny and full of energy and drama as the wacky Crystal.  Her costumes changes and the zest she brings to those changes and her singing is a sheer enchantment.

Nita is the space shot who loses herself in the romantic novels that she reads. She is blissful bewilderment personified. Susan Massey is a delight as the spacey Nita, whose life is so engrossed in sad ending romantic novels that she hides from real life and a twenty something year old son who is the bane of her existence. She is appropriately  out there and caring for her friends at the same time.

Bunny is a bitch on wheels who enjoys making life miserable for the ladies. Cheryl Day is rambunctious and relentless as Bunny, a harridan on speed. It is very funny and wildly nasty performance as she shows this self-absorbed witch for who she  truly is.

Bobby Dwayne braves the terrain with magnified ego. He is Sugar Lee's boyfriend from the past who's giving his all this time around.  Mark C. Fuller handles the role with determination an honesty. He is nervous and stuck in the past, afraid to face Suger Lee and he handles it with earnestness and skill.

Porter still lives with his mother. He's extremely settled in his ways, but, is willing to give dating a try -- maybe. His sense of humor is demonstrated only by his "strange" laugh. Robert Ducette is a joy in the role with a relentless energy and comic poise that never fails to bring a laugh. He is convincing in evoking the mama’s boy timidity of the character and weird antics with ample energy and conviction. He does have a problem with his accent at various times.

Director Trudi Miller keeps it all running merrily along, deftly balancing the large cast with skill and finesse, The Southern accents for the most part are convincing and on the mark.

The set design by Mark C. Fuller is a delightful recreation of a church, in fact it mimics the church hall the theater is in with accuracy and style.

Your Theatre until May 19 All tickets $15

136 Rivet Street, New Bedford, MA
508-993-0772 http://yourtheatre.org/yti/index.php

“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.