Playwright: Brian Friel. At: Seanachaí Theatre Company at the Irish-American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox. Phone: 866-811-4111; $22-$26. Runs through: April 4
There's a scene early in Brian Friel's play that we all eagerly anticipate, when the new-fangled wireless radio ( dubbed "marconi" by the owners who supply its batteries, this being 1936, when electricity was rare in many small-town Irish households ) switches stations, as of its own volition, from the pop tunes of the era to a traditional native melodywhereupon the five middle-aged Mundy sisters, one by one, momentarily throw off the shackles of their meager existence in a burst of dionysic frenzy, shrieking and capering in pagan ecstasy.
This is the first of many moments in our story when the barrier dividing "civilized" nations and their ancient customs will show itself to be flimsier than its defenders strive to render it. Take the harvest festival of Lughnasa itself, celebrating the end of the fertile season with bonfires and purification rites for farm animals, accompanied by the copious drinking and flamboyant dancing characteristic of such occasions. Consider, too, the crisis of faith undergone by Jack Mundy, the missionary posted to Uganda, only to be sent home in disgrace after being recaptured on the brink of conversion to his congregation's heathen practices. And if that's not enough evidence, there's Chrissy Mundy's illegitimate child and Rose Mundy's disturbing seduction by a possible predator.
But is this really so terrible? Among the "savages," Father Jack declares, each of the misses Mundy would have a husbandor one husband for all of themand babies would be welcomed, irrespective of their sire. Progress, on the other hand, is what will eventually exacerbate the Mundy clan's poverty and oppression. Or so concludes the author-surrogate who acts as our witness and chronicler.
Under the direction of Elise Kauzlaric, inaugurating the Seanachaí company's new quarters in the Irish-American Heritage Center, Barbara Figgins, Sarah Wellington, Carolyn Klein, Anne Sunseri and ringer Simone Roos deliver ensemble acting steeped in sororal unity, though their uniform youthfulness sometimes undermines the weariness associated with spinsters ranging in age between 26 and 40. Don Bender as the dispirited Father Jack and Philip Winston as the wayward father of Kevin Theis' compassionate backward-looking Michael likewise contribute valiant support, while the technical staff creates just the right nostalgic ambience for this tale of brave women facing a questionable futurein particular, sound designer Jack Court, whose seamless segue from the 17th-century "Skye Boat Song" to "Mood Indigo" completes our journey through a past hazy with summer's inevitable departure.