Return to Inishmaan

Last night, another wonderful Tony-voting boss invited me to be his guest at The Cripple of Inishmaan - actually, to be perfectly honest, when the show was announced, I begged him to let me be his date.  You know, the whole cougar-y thing.  He very kindly obliged.  Since I unexpectedly saw the show last week, I'll only offer a few thoughts about my second experience at the play.

From the superior Tony seats, I could see a lot more of the lighting effects and backdrop of the set - both were outstanding.  I also felt much closer to the action and even more connected than before.  All of the performances seemed deeper than last week, and I even noticed more chemistry between Daniel Radcliffe's Billy and Tony nominee Sarah Greene's Helen.  Something that happens in their very last scene together was so beautiful and touching, it made me cry.  And I hadn't even seen it last week because it isn't staged for people on far house left.  Sadly.

On this second visit, it took me much less time to get my ear acclimated to the world and language of the play.  I heard things I missed last time - not that I missed anything plot-wise, but it was just nice to be able to hear more of that delicious, character-rounding dialogue.  I felt more attuned to the kindness/unkindness of these people; maybe because I didn't have to listen as hard as I did before.  But I definitely felt more connected to the stories, lies and truths they all were telling. 

photo credit: Johan Persson

The actresses playing the aunties, Gillian Hanna and Ingrid Craigie, are doing some seriously genius work.  They are walking a real tightrope - one false step, and these characters are just too weird to be real.  But they find the dignity and the balance, and the huge heart of the play.  They have a lot of repetition in their dialogue and they are so brilliant at finding the different meaning and different intonation each time they repeat something.



look at the crowd to see Radcliffe!

But really, this entire company gels so beautifully as an ensemble.  They really feel like neighbors who have known each other, loved each other, hated each other and tolerated each other for many many years.  That kind of lived-in quality is so impressive to me and elevates the quality of the writing.  The quality is great, but without this kind of ensemble, I'm guessing it could all fall flat.  So thumbs WAY up to The Michael Grandage Company, Daniel Radcliffe, and everyone attached to The Cripple of Inishmaan.  What a wonderful night in the theater.  Again! 

**Just as an FYI, ballet season has started!  Get ready to be reading about ABT yet again!  Though I do have some theatergoing planned for the next few weeks as well.  It's going to be a busy Tony/ballet season around here.  I'm looking forward to it - I hope you are too!