The play unfolds in the small, forsaken Irish town of Drubbleduffy. The story centers on a five-person self-appointed tourism committee. Lest one think there’s no connection to the Burgh, former resident Willie McGanley (Dave Mansueto) trots in. He immigrated to (wait for it…) Pittsburgh and achieved success as an advertising, branding and social media guru. Willie bursts into the town’s lone bar during a tourism committee meeting and immediately contributes to the brainstorm. Willie shows off a camera burst on his iPhone that makes it look like the town’s Virgin Mary statue is moving which inspires the “miracle” of the moving virgin, thereby inducing the desired tourist influx.
Even in tiny Drubbleduffy, no one is pure of motive. The committee realizes the town is struggling for a place on the map. After all, the Irish tourism board has threatened to delete the town’s link from their website. It’s the modern-day kiss of death equivalent of the interstate being built, turning small towns into ghost towns when the interstate bypassed them.
Director Melissa Martin has Mansueto bring an appropriately American swagger and freneticism to Willie as the local boy made good. However, Werner’s writing could be stronger as he drops loaf-sized breadcrumbs. Willie is vague about his career and elides some simple requests, which diminish the impact of later reveals. Martin’s directing has a few misses as well. Tourism committee member Sadie McGonnigle (Mary Harvey) uses a cane, and her limp is highly erratic. Her slow walk turns speed walk as she edges offstage. Otherwise, Harvey is effective in the role.
Jaime Slavinsky shines as Jamie O’Hara, the local bartender (and proprietor’s daughter). Aside from Jamie and Willie, the cast is AARP-eligible, which reflects the town’s declining demographic. Slavinsky brings a youthful vibrancy to the play. She’s self-aware and fiercely funny as she casually tosses out witty one-liners. Her humor elicits little response from the committee. They haven’t transitioned to seeing her as an adult, despite the fact she’s in her 30s. It’s emblematic of the way they’re stuck in the past. It’s no surprise when flirtations develop between the two young’uns, but Mansueto and Slavinsky have an authentic rapport. Slavinsky smoothly transitions into O’Hara’s more tender side.
Jamie’s father, Paddy (Bill Crean), and Brendan McGill (Paul Ford) are two other committee members. Both are fine, but it’s easy to confuse them as their parts are redundant. It feels like Werner could have cut one and not lost anything. The two men would also have benefited from enhanced costuming differentiation from costume designers Cheryl El-Walker and Arionna Sherwood. Set designer Diane Melchitzky uses dark wood to capture the muted, dusty feel of a bar that hasn’t changed in decades. Melchitzky nicely incorporates authentic Irish props like a bodhran frame drum hanging behind the bar that Slavinsky plays. The play has a surplus of scene changes that would benefit from faster transitions as they slow down the play’s momentum.
Father Johnny Connelly (BillyDave Wammo) is the local Catholic leader as well as a member of the tourism committee. He condones the waving virgin ruse, then belatedly struggles with his conscious. This crisis is so anticipated that it slows down the play, especially since Wammo plays the wavering priest without conveying a sense of genuine moral dilemma. All this being said, one still longs for a trip to Drubbleduffy. Even with the conniving, it’s a quieter way of life, and Jamie elegantly captures its appeal when she quietly says, “Salmon love the home shore best.”
The Ray Werner Play Festival continues through December 2nd at the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company. Learn more about the festival and purchase tickets online.
Tiffany Raymond has her Ph.D. in 20th-century American drama from the University of Southern California where her research focused on labor and social protest theatre. She also has two master’s degrees, one from the University of Southern California and one from the University of Tennessee. She currently lives in Pittsburgh with her family. In addition to being a theatre nerd, she’s also a tech geek, avid reader, and occasional half-marathon runner.
Categories: Archived Reviews