Playwright: Ena Lamont Stewart. At: Griffin Theatre Company at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St. Tickets: 1-866-811-4111; www.griffintheatre.com; $35. Runs through: Aug. 10
Written in 1947, Men Should Weep is set a decade earlier in a Glasgow, Scotland, slum tenement. Its author was a smart literary cookie almost certainly familiar with the dramas of Dublin slum life written 25 years earlier by Sean O'Casey, especially Juno and the Paycock. Both feature families with too many children, perpetually unemployed husband/fathers, older sons and daughters who get into trouble, gossipy neighbors and wife/mothers who are as profound in their endurance as they are hard-pressed by their family circumstances.
The important difference, however, is that John Morrison, the central male in Men Should Weep, is neither alcoholic nor a shiftless and selfish blowhard as is his O'Casey counterpart, "Captain" Boyle. Morrison is steady, sober, devoted, capable of generosity and tenderness, and well-aware of the terrible conditions wrought by too large a family and too little work. It's not enough. In the final twist, his Presbyterian morality ( although he and his family are not obviously religious ) separates him from his wife and oldest daughter just as Capt. Boyle's hypocritical morality drives his wife and daughter from the house. As rendered by playwright Stewart, Morrison has the good sense to understand and despair and cryas the title requiresbut even so Stewart offers no forgiveness.
Discovering this little-known play and playwright ( both previously unknown to me even though I studied with a Glasgow-bred playwright who must have known Stewart personally ) is typical of the always-surprising and rewarding dramaturgy of Griffin Theatre Company. We've come to expect high production standards from Griffin, too, and Men Should Weep does not disappoint. Director Robin Witta reliable and sensitive interpreter who values understatementhas assembled a fine, large company dominated by layered and nuanced performances from Lori Myers and Scot West as Maggie and John Morrison, a couple perhaps no more than 40 years old who nonetheless are careworn and old. There are 13 others in the cast none of whom disappoint, with particularly pointed work ( as it needs to be ) from Ellie Reed as daughter Jenny, Curtis Jackson as son Alec and Amanda Power as his wife, Isa. Katherine Banks is pointed but sympathetic as Lily, Maggie's sister and refuge.
Costume designer Kate Murphy has a sharp period eye for both drab and stylish outfits, rich in texture and detail if not always bright with color ( but in 1936 or 1937, Alec would be wearing a "vest" or undershirt ). Courtney O'Neill's detailed scenic design grounds the play in the necessary gritty reality of a cramped tenement apartment.
If not entirely original in idea or situation, Men Should Weep is deeply truthful and heartfelt, its pain leavened by warmth and comedy. It's performed at Griffin with poignancy and passion.