Phillyist Reviews... The Lonesome West

When I was younger, I wanted to study abroad in Ireland because I wanted to pick up the accent. That dream was never to be, but my love for the Irish accent lives on. And so that, combined with my affinity for the work of Martin McDonagh, led me straight into the arms of Lantern Theater Company's new production of McDonagh's The Lonesome West, directed by David O'Connor.

Unlike last season's production of The Pillowman at the Wilma, this McDonagh play is quintessential Irish comedy: not set in a world controlled by some imaginary totalitarian government, but rather in a small Irish village in County Cork, where everyone is a little like people you know, and a lot crazy. In a lot of ways, this tale of two brothers feels like Sam Shepard's True West: siblings with an especially unhealthy kind of symbiotic relationship - they need each other, but it's likely that they'll kill each other before they realize that. Ross Beschler (Valene) and Anthony Lawton (Coleman) are excellent as the dysfunctional pair. The play is darkly fatalistic, and yet the comedy soars over the drama, ultimately, if not conquering it, at least keeping it at bay.

The comedy and drama are both aided by the other two characters in the show: Father Welsh, played by Luigi Sottile, and Girleen, played by the very talented Genevieve Perrier, last seen behind multiple puppets at Mum's Fringe show, which I loved. Their parts are small, but so well written that they could have had their own play. Thanks go to the director for emphasizing the cliche that there are no small parts, and for working with the actors to fully develop the roles when the characters, no matter how well written, might have faded behind the two contentious brothers.

In fact, I can only find two faults with the production: the first was the 3/4 thrust staging - usually something that doesn't bother me in the slightest, but because of the combination of the architecture of the space and where I was sitting in the house, I spent a lot of time looking at actors' backs. Some scenes, of course, worked better than others, but I would have been happier with slightly more conventional staging. My other problem is actually with McDonagh's script. In his very McDonagh way, he takes the more sympathetic of the two brothers, and, during the denouement, reveals that he committed a really atrocious act that made me feel guilty for siding with him up to that point. This, obviously, is not the fault of the production, and is, in fact, probably a criticism that McDonagh would relish. But it still upset me in a surprisingly visceral way.

Otherwise... this is a production worth seeing, and the Lantern, which has just extended its run for an extra week, knows this. From the impressive set by Meghan Jones to the impressive array of props that need to be re-made every night (and twice on matinee days!) by the sculpting and painting team to the aforementioned acting and directing, you might not love every minute of the play itself, but there's no denying that this is a quality production.

The Lonesome West runs through October 14 at St. Stephen's Theater, 10th and Ludlow Streets in Center City. Tickets are available for purchase online.

Anthony Lawton (left) as Coleman and Ross Beschler (right) as Valene. Photo by Jeffrey Stockbridge, via the Lantern.