|
WIFE TO JAMES WHELAN Send This Review to a Friend
This time around The Mint Theater Company is rediscovering the work of Irish playwright Teresa Deevy (1894-1963), whose plays were presented by the Abbey Theater in Dublin. But the Abbey didn’t stage her “Wife to James Whelan,” which the Mint is giving a richly deserved mounting under the perceptive direction of Jonathan Bank. An illness in her teens left Deevy deaf, but she certainly wasn’t deaf (or blind) to women’s and class issues. Expertly acted, the play presently spotlighted is a sad, sensitive examination of economic gain, love lost and degrading struggle.
The first act set in an Irish town, Kilbeggan, examines the affection young James Whelan (Shawn Fagan) and Nan Bowers (Janie Brookshire) have for one another. But economic opportunities are rare, and Whelan leaves town in search of success with expectation that Nan will wait for him It is seven years later in Act II, and Nan, who has since been married and widowed, has fallen on hard times and is struggling to raise a child. Whelan has returned to open a bus company that is growing increasingly successful. Nan comes to him for work, and although a spark is somewhat rekindled in him, what Nan unexpectedly does in desperation makes him turn on her viciously.
The third act increasingly defines the choices being made as a reflection of class realities, ladder climbing and missed opportunities for pursuing one’s feelings that might bring personal happiness. Fagan’s scrappy portrayal of Whelen sets the right crucial tone. The character is so ambition-driven that, although he can make a stab at kindness, he can be cruelly mean-spirited and arrogant toward those around him. His harsh treatment of Nan is inexcusable even though he was provoked. He is ripe for marriage, but to whom?
Rosie Benton gives a very appealing performance as Kate Moran, Whelan’s long-time friend. She is feisty and interesting, but she is too dynamic a woman for his ego to take. On the other hand, attractive, flirtatious but seemingly vacuous Nora Keane (Liv Rooth) has a rich father. Whelen was keen on her when they were younger and he worked for her father, but she slighted him in a way he has never forgotten. However, marrying her would achieve upward mobility. All of this is delineated against a background of the limited opportunities in the village--for men, but especially for women, positioned to regard marriage as the be-all of their lives.
The playwright adds an assortment of interesting male characters, played by Aidan Redmond, Jeremy S. Holm, Thomas Matthew Kelley and Jon Fletcher, and it is given to them to express some of the kinder, human feelings that Whelan lacks in his relentless opportunism to achieve success. Deevy’s character assessments are sharp, as is much of her dialogue. This is a worthy play that indicates the need for a fresh look at Deevy’s work. At the Mint Theater, 311 West 43rd Street. Phone: 212-315-0231.
|