Review: Dancing at Lughnasa at Everyman Theatre

By Andrea Bush

Approx. Running Time: 2 hours with a 10-minute intermission

“I know I had a sense of unease, some awareness of a widening breach between what seemed to be and what was, of things changing too quickly before my eyes, of becoming what they ought not to be.”

L-R: Katie Kleiger, Lahbahoise Magee,
and Megan Anderson.
Photo Credit: Teresa Castracane

Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel and Directed and Choreographed by Amber Paige McGinnis, is the story of a memory, told by Michael Evan’s as he looks back across a quarter-century, to August 1936 during the Festival of Lughnasa. The five unmarried Mundy sisters – Michael’s mother, Christina, and his aunts, Kate, Maggie, Agnes, and Rose – live together in a cottage outside the fictional village of Ballybeg, Ireland. Their brother, Father Jack, has returned after 25 years as a missionary on a leper colony in Uganda, with malaria, a spotty memory, and some contrary ideas. Before long, Michael’s charming but unreliable father, Gerry, resurfaces, as well. As the Industrial Revolution finally makes its way to Ireland, we find this family in transition, but between what? Old and new? Real and imagined? Together and apart? Restraint and abandon? Well…yes. Dancing at Lughnasa is a beautiful piece of theatre that may be an entirely different story for each patron.

L-R: Annie Grier, Bari Hochwald, Katie
Kleiger, and Labhaoise Magee.
Photo Credit: Teresa Castracane

The action takes place in and around the Mundy sisters’ cottage, which is brilliantly realized by Set Designer Yu-Hsuan Chen. I am legitimately in such awe of her set that I struggle to find the words to praise it. Chen has so beautifully captured the line between reality and memory with a perfectly-appointed cottage kitchen (complete with smoke from the chimney of the wood-burning stove), the walls of which seem to have dissolved away so we may sneak a glimpse into the lives it contains. The cottage is surrounded by impressions of wind-swept trees and an abstract landscape. I truly felt like I was looking in on someone else’s memory and it made me uncomfortable in the best possible way. Chen’s set is nothing short of perfection.

L-R: Bruce Randolph Nelson, Bari Hochwald, Labhaoise
Magee, Annie Grier, Megan Anderson, Tim Getman, and
Katie Kleiger.
Photo Credit: Teresa Castracane

Upon entering the theatre, patrons are greeted by Irish music, which foretells the wonderful sound design by Phillip Owen. Music (or the lack thereof) is almost another character in the play, and Owen’s design is spot on.

David Burdick’s costume design is excellent and appropriate for each character, and I appreciate Annie Nesmith’s almost-undetectable wig design.

For the most part, the actors seem to have taken well to the dialect coaching of Gary Logan and I was grateful that he chose diction over dialect without losing the authenticity of the accent.

Props Master Jillian Mathews may well deserve an unsung hero award for her work on this production. The sheer volume of “things” on the stage is overwhelming, giving the cottage and yard an authentic, lived-in feel. Kudos to Stage Manager Cat Wallis, as well – it seems like there are so many nearly imperceptible moving parts to this show that no one will ever know, thanks to Wallis.

L-R: Bari Hochwald, Bruce Randolph Nelson, Annie Grier,
Danny Gavigan, Labhaoise Magee, Tim Getman, Katie
Kleiger, and Megan Anderson.
Photo Credit: Teresa Castracane

Jay Herzog’s lighting design is stunning, which is no surprise. I would honestly go see a production at Everyman Theatre just for his design work. In a production that transitions between past and present, we expect to see shifts in lighting to represent the time change, but it is all too often done with a heavy hand, which makes me feel disrespected as an audience member. Herzog takes a gentler approach and his subtle transitions enhance the story, rather than becoming the story. I also always love his use of pools of light, instead of a consistent spot, to track an actor across the stage.

L-R: Megan Anderson and Tim Getman.
Photo Credit: Teresa Castracane

As the play begins, the adult Michael (Tim Getman) invites us into his memory and the lights come up on the rest of the characters in tableau. Getman adeptly breaks the fourth wall consistently throughout the play and his performance feels genuine, never forced or overly sentimental (In fact, none of the actors get weighed down in sentiment, which is a testament to Amber Paige McGinnis’ apt direction of this piece). As he stands outside the action, he also takes on the persona and delivers lines for his seven-year-old self – a challenge for him and his fellow actors to interact without interacting. I enjoyed this device immensely and it is well-handled by all.

L-R: Labhaoise Magee,
Katie Kleiger, Annie Grier,
and Bari Hochwald.
Photo Credit: Teresa
Castracane

The oldest sister, Kate (Bari Hochwald) is stern, but likeable. Toward the beginning of the evening, Hochwald seemed a little unsure of herself, but as the show went on, I thought it might be a character choice that she hasn’t fully settled into yet. I did, however, enjoy her performance. Kate is the practical sister and often has to play the “bad guy” to keep the household going. It would be easy to play the character as mean, but Hochwald finds beautiful layers within Kate and this may be my favorite role that I’ve seen her in.

Megan Anderson’s portrayal of Maggie is a delight. She is sassy and bold and I wanted to be her friend. Her interactions with young Michael, full of riddles and imagination, were some of the most beautiful moments of the show. Anderson’s absolute abandon as she danced and sang and tried to bring lightness to the home made me yearn to get up and dance with her.

L-R: Katie Kleiger, and
Danny Gavigan.
Photo Credit: Teresa
Castracane

Labhaoise Magee is a sweet, childlike Rose, the youngest sister. Her desire to embrace the world is palpable. Magee brings an unexpected combination of innocence and practicality to the role, which was interesting to watch.

Christina (Katie Kleiger) and Gerry (Danny Gavigan) are Michael’s unmarried parents. Kleiger plays the dichotomy between who Christina is on her own and who she is with Gerry with aplomb. Gavigan plays Gerry with just enough charm to make you want him to stay and just enough smarm to make you doubt he ever will, which makes Kleiger’s performance that much more heartbreaking.

Father Jack, played by Bruce Randolph Nelson, is my conundrum for this show. I have to say that I very much enjoyed seeing Bruce Randolph Nelson tell stories about Pagan rituals and be just a bit off his rocker – he really was captivating in his own right. But, in the context of the show, I’d have rather seen Father Jack. Unfortunately, Nelson’s authenticity in the role was lacking, right down to his on-again-off-again accent.

L-R: Bari Hochwald and Megan
Anderson.
Photo Credit: Teresa Castracane

But, Annie Grier’s performance as Agnes is the one I can’t stop thinking about. Agnes is the most subtle sister and her performance is perfectly understated and gorgeous. I couldn’t stop watching her, even as she sat in the background of a scene, knitting. I don’t want to give away her story arc, but I will say that her masterful performance makes it all the more poignant.

Overall, Dancing at Lughnasa is another stunning production from Everyman Theatre. From design to direction to performance, it is a must-see this season. I hope to get back to see it again before it fades to nothing more than a memory.

Dancing at Lughnasa will play through October 7 at Everyman Theatre, 315 West Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD. For tickets, call the Box Office at 410-752-2208 or purchase them online.

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Famed Farce Noises Off to Receive Resident Company Treatment With Comically Chaotic Revival at Baltimore's Everyman Theatre



If you’re a theatre lover, you don’t want to miss this show wherever and whenever it is playing! This hilarious farce shows the real-world problems that can and inevitably arise during any production and relatable to every actor who has tread the boards! So excited for this production!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2017
 
Theatre’s Season Wraps with Sardines, Silliness and Split-Second Timing
Baltimore, MD – Everyman Theatre’s Resident Company of actors transforms into a British company of actors during the 1970s in this hotly anticipated revival of Tony Award-Winner Michael Frayn’s side-splitting farce to end all farces, Noises Off, directed by Founding Artistic Director Vincent M. Lancisi and running from May 17 through June 18, 2017.
With this love-letter to the thrilling unpredictability of the stage, Everyman Theatre ends its 2016/17 season on a zany note, joined by eight of its Resident Company members portraying a cast of bumbling British thesps (starring in the fictitious play-within-a-play, “Nothing On”) whose backstage buffoonery threatens to steal the show. With their opening night on London’s West End just hours away, can the cast pull their act together before lost lines, love triangles and flying sardines upstage the production?
Punctuated with wall-to-wall wackiness, carefully timed/choreographed hijinks, and spiked with color-popping 1970s pizazz and sight gags galore, Noises Off considers what happens when everything thatcan go wrong, does go wrong, earning laughs-a-minute from its talented cast.
“We’ve all heard the saying that ‘dying is easy, comedy is hard,’ but working within a Resident Company provides a level of family-like comfort for the actors that paves the way for hilarity of the highest caliber to ensue,” said Lancisi. “When audiences recognize our Resident Company members shifting between the characters they play, and the characters that those characters play (in the play within the play), it only adds to the infectious mayhem – literally tripling up on the fun.”
Resident Company members Deborah Hazlett (The Roommate, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire, An Inspector Calls) and Danny Gavigan (A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, Ghosts, Deathtrap) lead the show-within-a-show cast as Dotty Otley, the top-billed star ofNothing On and Garry Lejeune, her leading man. They are joined by fellow Resident Company members Bruce Randolph Nelson (Great Expectations, Wait Until Dark, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire) as Nothing On co-star Frederick Fellowes, Beth Hylton (A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, Outside Mullingar) as actress Belinda Blair, and Wil Love (Death of a Salesman, Outside Mullingar, Deathtrap) as Selsdon Mowbray, a veteran actor with a weakness for the bottle. The show-within-a-show cast is rounded out by Emily Kester, making her Everyman Theatre debut as the naïve actress Brooke Ashton.
Other featured Resident Company actors in Noises Off include Carl Schurr (Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire, Blithe Spirit) as Lloyd Dallas, the director of Nothing On, with Eric Berryman(Red, Topdog/Underdog, A Raisin in the Sun) and Megan Anderson (Dot, Wait Until Dark, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire), respectively, as stage manager Tim Allgood and assistant stage manager Poppy Norton-Taylor.
The Noises Off design team includes Resident Designer Company members Daniel Ettinger (Set Design), Jay A. Herzog (Lighting), Gary Logan (Dialects), Lewis Shaw (Fight Choreography) and Jillian Mathews (Props Master). Costume Design is provided by Eric Abele and Sound Design by Phillip Owen.
Noises Off first premiered in 1982 in London and opened in 1983 on Broadway where it received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. Performed nearly nonstop ever since, Everyman Theatre’s production follows a recent Broadway revival produced by Roundabout Theatre Company.
Tickets for Noises Off are now on sale online (www.everymantheatre.org), by phone (410.752.2208), or at the Everyman Theatre Box Office (315 W. Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD 21201).
Event Listings
Pay-What-You-Can Performance
May 16, 2017 at 7:30 PM
Pay-What-You-Can (suggested minimum donation: $5) to see the final dress rehearsal of Noises Off. Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Box Office beginning at 5:30pm. Tickets must be paid for in cash. Seating is general admission.
TNT: Theatre Night for Teens
May 16, 2017 at 6:00 PM
Students in grades 9-12 can enjoy dinner from Noodles & Company, an artist meet-and-greet withNoises Off prop master Jillian Matthews, and the 7:30 PM performance, followed by post-show discussion and dessert. Tickets: $10 each.
The Show Must Go On! A Stoop Storytelling Event
May 22, 2017 (Drinks/music at 6:00 PM; Performance at 7:30 PM)
Everyman and Stoop Storytelling partner to present an entertaining evening of hilarious-but-true stories about the unexpected pitfalls and pratfalls of the stage. Tickets: $20 each.
Taste of Everyman: Wacky Mix-Ups
June 1, 2017 at 6:00 PM
Mix and mingle with other theatre lovers during a pre-show social, this month featuring unique cocktail concoctions combining the most unexpected ingredients, and paired with hors d’oeuvres by The French Kitchen. Tickets: $60 each for show and event.
World of the Play
June 3, 2017 at 5:00 PM
Take part in an in-depth panel discussion on the themes and topics of the show, hosted by Marc Steiner (WEAA’s The Marc Steiner Show). Tickets: $5 each (free for subscribers).
Salon Series: Women’s Voices: Trouble In Mind
June 5, 2017 (Cocktails at 6:00 PM; Performance at 7:00 PM)
A reading of Trouble In Mind by Obie Award-winning African-American playwright Alice Childress, directed by Resident Company member Dawn Ursula. Tickets: $15 each ($5 for students).
Cast Conversations
Jun 8, 2017 at 9:30 PM
Talk about the play with the members of the cast after the show. Free.
About Everyman Theatre
Everyman Theatre is a professional Equity theatre company celebrating the actor, with a Resident Company of artists from the Baltimore/DC area. Founded in 1990 by Vincent M. Lancisi, the theatre is dedicated to engaging the audience through a shared experience between actor and audience seeking connection and emotional truth in performance. Everyman is committed to presenting high quality plays that are affordable and accessible to everyone. The theatre strives to engage, inspire and transform artists, audiences and community through theatre of the highest artistic standards and is committed to embodying the promise of its name, Everyman Theatre.
Noises Off is presented by production sponsor University of Maryland, Baltimore. The 16/17 Season is generously sponsored by LifeBridge Health and Neil & Ellen Meltzer. Everyman Theatre’s Pay-What-You-Can nights are supported by Dr. E. Lee & Bea Robbins. Everyman Theatre is proud to have The Baltimore Sun Media Group and WYPR Season Media Sponsors. MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to non-profit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Everyman Theatre is a proud member of the Bromo Tower Arts and Entertainment District and the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance.
Vincent M. Lancisi is the Founding Artistic Director of Everyman Theatre; Jonathan K. Waller is the Managing Director. For information about Everyman Theatre, visit www.everymantheatre.org or call 410.752.2208.