Shadow
of a Gunman
 Review
by Deborah Klugman, LA Weekly |
 |
Proletarian-turned-playwright
Sean O’Casey’s 1923 tale of love and death still reverberates in its poignant
depiction of ordinary folk under terrorist siege. O’Casey’s illusory felon,
Donal (Jason Cole), is a Shelley-quoting apolitical poet sharing digs with
his chatty, superstitious and equally war-wary friend, Seamus (Kurt Boesen),
in a Dublin tenement. Perceived by gossipy neighbors as an IRA operative
on the run, Donal attracts the interest of bold, naive, romance-minded
Minnie (Maura Knowles). But before love blossoms, British soldiers raid
the building in search of insurgents — precipitating tragedy. O’Casey knew
and loved his people well, masterfully delineating their strengths and
foibles with grandeur, affectionate humor and compassion. Director Tim
O’Hare and a splendidly disciplined ensemble rise to the occasion, vanquishing
the difficulties of dialect to capture both the play’s Irish flavor and
humanity. Boesen’s alternately wise and fretful Seamus lays claim to the
production’s most sterling and well-crafted performances and, on the night
I attended, even the understudies commanded their roles.
Copyright 1998, LA Weekly
Reprinted by permission
Shadow
of a Gunman at the Colony Theatre
|
