Access Atlanta > Arts > Our Reviews > Archives > 2004 > September > 21 > Entry
Theater Gael’s “A Man of No Importance”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“A Man of No Importance”
Alfie Byrne is a sweet, elfin man with an asymmetrical face that looks a bit like a collapsed marshmallow. A Dublin bus conductor with the poetry of Oscar Wilde in his soul, he’s a daydreamer, art lover and amateur thespian of such sincerity that it’s comical.
Byrne is also a Roman Catholic troubled by the love that dare not speak its name. His outing and undoing, and subsequent acceptance by his sister and extended family of parish-hall players, is the essential story behind “A Man of No Importance.”
As directed by Freddie Ashley for Theatre Gael, the show is something of a tiny miracle —- a cast of 13 performing a musical of bittersweet complexity in quarters so close you can almost feel the emotions touch your skin.
Who says musical theater has to be done on a Broadway scale with a grandiose budget and ostentatious special effects?
With a handful of props, a single musician and a simple but handsomely burnished mini-proscenium by John Stephens, the troupe turns this drama into a chamber-work-in-a-teapot, admirably sung and for the most part gracefully choreographed.
It helps that “A Man of No Importance” comes with a pretty spiffy pedigree (Terrence McNally’s book, Stephen Flaherty’s music and Lynn Ahren’s lyrics). To that, Ashley adds a shining ensemble that includes Lawrence Salberg as Alfie, Jill Hames as Alfie’s mother hen-ish sister Lily, Justin Tanner as the bus driver with whom he’s smitten, and Winslow Thomas as both his nemesis and his inspiration.
Salberg tenderly captures the naivete and shame of Alfie. When the character decides his St. Imelda’s Players will stage Wilde’s “Salome” and finally decides to act on his sexual impulses, his world collapses. Tanner works nicely as Robbie —- consider his big song, “The Streets of Dublin” —- and even gets a Brando moment in a white T-shirt. Craig Waldrip’s Breton Beret makes an appropriately smarmy seducer and pulls a surprise that you don’t see coming.
But Hames and Thomas easily command the most attention in this cast.
Always solid, Hames soars here as the matronly Lily (“Tell Me Why”), who’s in love with the butcher and St. Imelda’s scenery chomper, Carney (Thomas). Together this pair brings to mind Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett (“Books”) —- a high compliment, indeed. Thomas plays two parts, making an interesting psychological juxtaposition: As Carney, he participates in Alfie’s humiliation; as Wilde, he encourages him to be himself.
In staging this topical story, Theatre Gael is attempting to engage the community in a political dialogue. But one can wager that “A Man of No Importance” will be as significant tomorrow as it is today. Like an inhabitant of Joyce’s “Dubliners,” Alfie wears a public face that may seem to be of small importance.
It’s his yearning, and his emotional victory, that makes him heroic.
Breakdown
8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 5 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 17. $16-$22. Theatre Gael, 14th Street Playhouse, 173 14th St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-4750, www.theatregael.com.
The verdict: A gem.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Theater
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Neil Jones
October 15, 2004 2:26 PM | Link to this
Collapsed Marshmallow? That is ludicrous. Mr. Salberg is very handsome and after you find out how much he cares to improve the self-esteem of children with “Applause..For Kids,” you might be a little more careful describing the physical appearance of someone.
Thanks, Neil