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Regional Reviews: St. Louis The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Albion Theatre producer Robert Ashton directs The Beauty Queen of Leenane at the Kranzberg black box theater, painting a great psychological mural of mind-bending realism and dark gallows humor. The play debuted at the Druid Theatre Company in Galway, Ireland in 1996, and appeared on Broadway two years later at the Walter Kerr. Now, Heather Matthews plays the title character Maureen–reminiscent a bit of comedienne Catherine Tate, at least physically, before the twin icebergs of fate and obligation in her life come smashing together. She's already the exhausted caregiver to Mag, her mother, played with epic fussiness and maddening chatter by Teresa Doggett. Ms. Doggett is strangely fresh and new here, even in metaphorical mothballs. But Mag and Maureen are stuck together, a mile from town and high up on a rocky hill in McDonagh's favorite setting of Connemara, in County Galway, Ireland. You'll laugh in unexpected ways as the show twists your mind into strange new shapes. But it's often, weirdly, the story of two frightened women darting like snakes at one another, as an old flame comes back into the younger woman's life. Jason Meyers is Pato Dooley, and makes for an admirable romantic leading man. Austin Cochran seems naturally hilarious as his cock-sure little brother Ray. And a whole bizarre universe emerges from the various combinations of just the four of them. Mr. Meyers easily fans the flames of passion in act one, and later shows a delightful vulnerability in a charming monologue in act two. And Mr. Cochran has funny little echoes in his delivery of film actor James Cagney. The excellent set is by Chuck Winning, with lighting by Eric Wennlund. There is, in the play, a desperation of forgotten peoples and places that makes me sad for our own futures and anxious to make the most of the years we have left. Yet you can't help laughing at it all, even with a painful whiff like wasabi in our noses. It's just one of those shows where comedy and tragedy cleave together in strange, worrisome ways. A perfect play for our times, though: laugh on, as the truth turns to madness. The Beauty Queen of Leenane, presented by Albion Theatre, runs through March 30, 2025, at the Kranzberg Black Box Theatre, 501 N. Grand, St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.albiontheatrestl.org. Cast (in order of appearance): Production Staff: |
