“The Beauty Queen of Leenane”

[rating=5] Dark comedy is what we sort of expect when Irish playwright Martin McDonagh’s works go from paper to stage, and sure as that is the case, the latest production to grace the stage at Northlight, “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” surely satisfies! This is the story of a mother and her daughter and the love- hate relationship between them. The mother, Mag ( a marvelous portrayal by Wendy Robie) sits and watches the telly all day, waiting for the news and her daughter, Maureen ( Chicago favorite Kate Fry) to wait on her every need. The daughter is a 40- something, old maid, spinster, searching for the true love that will allow her to escape from the trap of being her mother’s care taker.

As we meet them, we can see the friction between these women, both wanting the other to pay the price for their own suffering. The neighbor family, The Dooleys are about as close a friend as one might expect in a small town in Ireland. When the youngest lad,  Ray  (  a delightful turn by Casey Morris) comes by to invite them to a fest, Maureen decides to go. A night away from her mother might just be what the doctor ordered. At the party, Maureen rekindles a crush on Ray’s older brother Pato ( deftly handled by Nathan Hosner), who ends up spending the night and expresses to Maureen that for years he has had a crush on her, his “Beauty Queen of Leenane”.

As it turns out, he must leave Ireland for London so he can work and pay his bills, but he promises to write. Maureen has fallen in love, or perhaps lust with this man and sees a possible future without her mother in this relationship. Mag, on the other hand fears that should Pato proceed to take Maureen away with him, she will be placed in a home to die- alone!.

Act two begins with a letter from Pato telling Maureen that he is planning to leave London for Boston in America, and if all goes well, will ask her to join him there so they can spend the rest of their days together. He sends this letter to his family enclosed with theirs and asks his brother Ray to bring this letter to Maureen and NOT allow her mother to see it. As you might guess, Ray, not being the brightest of young men, allows the letter to remain after he leaves, and the rest I will not divulge as it would spoil the dark humor that  McDonagh puts before us.

Directed by B.J. Jones, who truly understands the wit and charm of the Irish humor, this is a two hour fifteen minutes masterpiece (Tony-Award winner) that will captivate you. The two women are sheer perfection together as we gaze into their lives and feel the pressure and heat that is there. Robie is dynamite and o course, as usual Fry is sheer perfection. Like the part was written with her playing it in mind!

Todd Rosenthal has designed a set that is powerful in bringing a small cabin-like house to the stage in Skokie and the lighting ( JR Lederle) and sound ( Andre Pluess) fit completely. The fight choreography (David Woolley) and the costumes (Theresa Ham) along with the myriad of props assembled by Lydia Hanchett truly make all the pieces of the play fit together. One must feel the heat between the women and the resentment that they have for each other. McDonagh loves to work on the theory that each of his characters is in one way or another alone and isolated. Perhaps the isolation  results from just sitting and thinking about what life could have been like. This play takes us there, and again, there will be some shocking developments, but it all becomes clear at the end.

“The Beauty Queen of Leenane” will continue at Northlight Theatre located at 9501 N. Skokie Blvd ( just south of Golf Rd/Route 58) in Skokie thru April 22nd with performances as follows:

Wednesdays   p.m. (except 4/4)  and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  8 p.m.

Saturdays  2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Sundays  2:30 p.m. (except 4/1) and 7 p.m.( on 4/8)

Tickets range from $30- $81 and can be purchased at the box office, by calling 847-673-6300 or online at www.northlight.org

Plenty of free parking.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at ” The Beauty Queen of Leenane”