Playwright: Tom Murphy
At: Seanachai Theatre Company at Victory Gardens, 2257 N. Lincoln
Phone: ( 773 ) 871-3000; $24-$28
Runs through: May 14
BY MARY SHEN BARNIDGE
According to the playbill, Tom Murphy was a vocational school instructor when he wrote this play ( his first ) , exploring the roots of juvenile delinquency in his native Ireland—a genre encompassing English playwright Nigel Williams' Class Enemy and American author Bill Cain's Stand-Up Tragedy—and the role played by the parents in fostering antisocial behavior.
Our dysfunctional clan in this case are the Carneys of County Mayo, most of whom have emigrated to the lonely manufacturing town of Coventry ( where shunned Brits are said to be sent ) : Michael Carney has a wife and a steady job, but foolishly extends hospitality to his three rowdy brothers in a vain attempt to rescue them from the destructive street culture. A visit from their father—ironically, a retired policeman—and their youngest sibling reveals the former's role in encouraging his sons to violent deeds reflecting his own frustration. Will the teenage Desmond reject the gangbanger lifestyle, betraying his filial loyalty, or will he be caught up by the glamour of the Cool Pose?
The dynamics of blood feuds, family against family, are not so removed from those of the surrogate 'families' to be found in our own urban culture. And if Murphy's indignation allows his exploration of aggravating factors—unemployment, alcohol, ethnic prejudice—to become protracted, and if Jeff Christian's otherwise capable staging makes for a curiously abrupt, however inevitable, showdown ( perhaps the result of opening-night adrenaline depletion in a play requiring the vocal stamina of field sergeants ) , there is no denying the intense commitment brought to the characters by a hard-working ensemble.
Milwaukee import John Kishline delivers a chillingly underplayed portrayal of the abusive Carney patriarch, ably supported by Dan Waller and Coburn Goss as the sons fighting for leadership, with Sarah Wellington displaying surprising strength as the latter's beleaguered spouse. Also keeping our attention riveted, even as we know what's coming, are Robert Kauzlaric, Eamonn McDonagh, Mac Brandt and Jack Briggs, who lend subtextual eloquence to every inarticulate grunt and giggle uttered by disenfranchised men unable to articulate what they want, but stand ready to fight for it, nevertheless.