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Regional Reviews: Minneapolis/St. Paul Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock was first produced in 1926 in Dublin, just three years after the official end of the Irish Civil War, which is the crucial backdrop for the play. The sense of raw nerves being struck must have been as palpable as modern audiences felt when the earliest plays dealing with Vietnam, AIDS or 9/11 were mounted. Are we ready to deal with this? Are the wounds still too raw? Will the play bring people together, or stir discord? Sean O'Casey injected large doses of very funny comedy throughout this tragic tale of the Boyle family—Juno, "Captain" Jack Boyle (the titular Paycock), daughter Mary and son Johnny—barely hanging on to their impoverished existence as they attempt to dodge the war all around them. The comedy leavens the dark heaviness of the plot, enabling audiences to bear the pain, and at times giving us to believe that this is indeed a story of hope and redemption; all the more to bring us to a devastating close, as wrought as any I can remember in a life of theatergoing. Beyond the weight of their poverty—part of the "working class" in Dublin that work not to get ahead but just to live another day—Captain (the sobriquet he acquired after a very brief and questionable stint at sea) is a slave to alcohol, unable to move through his drunken haze to pursue what meager opportunities of employment come along. His long-suffering wife Juno is at wit's end trying to make ends meet. Mary is a lovely young woman with a modest job, more concerned with the color of her hair ribbons than the conflict out on the street. She rejects romantic advances of Free State organizer Jerry Devine, falling instead for the more polished solicitor Charles Bentham. Johnny, grievously wounded in the war, having a hip destroyed and losing an arm, seethes with bitterness while struggling to avoid further entanglement with the unsympathetic forces of conflict. The solicitor Bentham brings a ray of hope to the Boyles in the form of news of a large inheritance. The Boyles rejoice, the Captain giving way to extravagant spending even before the cash is in hand. He is aided in this, as in all of his misguided pursuits, by his friend "Joxer" Daly, whose constant state of inebriation has the effect of making the Captain appear more temperate in his intake of drink. Mary's romance with Mr. Bentham ignites, giving further cause to rejoice. A reminder of the grim business around them—the funeral of a young man killed in the war, and the mournful protestations of his mother—give them only brief pause as they believe themselves to have escaped the veil surrounding working-class Dublin. It all seems too good to be true, and as things turn out, it is. The play repeatedly soars in waves of comedy that crash down hard on the jagged rocks of loss and disappointment. Dowling gives both the comedy and the tragedy their due, underscoring the reality that life is both wondrous and terrible, at least for families like the Boyles. The trick is to keep the two in balance. As the play moves toward the terrible, bit by bit at first, then in a downward cascade, we can't help but feel deeply for the characters, even in the face of their obvious flaws. The remarkable cast brings every one of O'Casey's characters vividly to life. The leads, Stephan Brennan as Captain Jack Boyle and Anita Reeves as Juno Boyle, are esteemed Irish actors making their Guthrie debuts, and both bring the total ring of truth to their roles. The chemistry between them makes sense of the enduring bond that has kept them together over many harsh years. Reeves gives Juno the steadfastness that a woman in her position would need just to wake up each day, and the ability to be a bit of a nag without seeming unpleasant. Brennan is nimble-footed in his drunken haze and charming in his repartee with Joxer and Mrs. Madigan, and a defanged grizzly bear with Juno. The rest of the cast is equally strong. David Darrow is the soul of bitterness as Johnny, living in denial of the unfinished parts of his business in the war. Katie Kleiger as Mary is sweetly naïve, believing that life's better options await her. As Joxer, Mark Benninghofen gives the kind of outsized performance that might steal the show, were the rest of the show not so solidly grounded. His physical comedy as a hopeless inebriate and his mask of good cheer that conceals a vile nature are marvels. Sally Wingert etches yet another in her parade of remarkable characters as neighbor Maisie Madigan, putting the barest of lady-like patinas on a woman whose own struggles have primed her to survive. Casey Hoekstra as the sincere suitor Jerry Devine and Sean Michael Dooley as solicitor Charles Bentham both bring the right tone to convey their aspirations and class distinctions. Dearbhla Molloy, another Irish actor, draws depths of sorrow from the small role of the grieving Mrs. Tancred. The set, which depicts the main room of the Boyle's flat—a combined living, dining, kitchen and bedroom and a glimpse into the building's corridor—has the decayed look of its worn down inhabitants. Though the room is intended to be small, it fully occupies the large stage of the McKnight Proscenium Theater. Yet, as the play progresses, there is the peculiar effect of feeling that the room contracts, becoming smaller and smaller as the characters become increasingly desperate. The lighting also contributes to the changes in tone and acceleration of tension, while the costumes are right on target to depict the status of each character. The sound design work is especially strong as we hear the slowly fading chants of the young soldier's funeral, and sounds of the war floating up from the street into the Boyle's defenseless home. The accents and dialects are very well handled by the entire company. The fact that native Irish and locally cast actors all seem to speak the same tongue is noteworthy. A scene of celebration in song and dance is also quite wonderful, highly entertaining in the manner of those who have learned to create diversions from the gloom of everyday. In 1926 Juno and the Paycock was very much of the moment, taking shots at the futility of war, the dependency of women, the curse of alcohol, the power of the church, and the hopelessness of poverty. The play offers insights into Irish history, but sadly, reflects our times as well. We have a growing number of working poor, for whom a lottery ticket might seem a more likely path to advancement than hard work. Lives continue to be wasted through dependence on alcohol or other drugs. Wars are waged around the globe where the price paid in death, heartbreak, and destruction appears far greater than any gains. Aside from its depiction of a society fraught with struggle, its vivid characters and believable relationships that embrace humor, anger, tenderness, hope, and despair make Juno and the Paycock a gripping human story. Both as social commentary and as drama, it is a master work, being given a masterful production. Juno and the Paycock continues at the Guthrie Theater's McGuire Proscenium Stage through June 28, 2015. 618 South 2nd Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55115. Tickets from $34.00 - $65.00. For tickets call 612-377-2224 or go to GuthrieTheater.org. Rush seats available 30 minutes before performance, $20.00. Writer: Sean O'Casey; Director: Joe Dowling; Original Set Design: Frank Hallinan Flood; Set Design Executed for the Guthrie: Michael Hoover; Costume Design: Christine A. Richardson; Lighting Design: Frank Butler Sound Design: Montana Johnson; Dramaturg: Jo Holcomb; Voice and Dialect Coach: D'Arcy Smith; Stage Manager: Tree O'Halloran; Assistant Stage Manager: Michele Hossle; Assistant Director: E. G. Bailey ; Singing Coach: Victor Zupnac; Casting Consultants: McCorkle Casting, LTD; Design Assistants: Alice Friedrickson (costumes), Ryan Connealy (lighting), and Reid Rejsa (sound associate); Interns: Amanda Connors (directing) and Katie Kenfield (stage management). Cast: Evan Adams (A Furniture Removal Man), Mark Benninghofen ("Joxer" Daly), Stephen Brennan ("Captain" Jack Boyle), Dustin Bronson (An Irregular Mobilizer), Joshua James Campbell (A Sewing Machine Man, An Irregular), Nate Cheeseman ( A Coal Block Vendor, An Irregular), David Darrow (Johnny Boyle), Sean Michael Dooley (Charles Bentham), Casey Hoekstra (Jerry Devine), Katie Kleiger (Mary Boyle), Dearbhla Molloy (Mrs. Tancred), Kris L. Nelson ("Needle" Nugent), Riley O'Toole (A Furniture Removal Man), Anita Reeves (Juno Boyle), Sally Wingert (Mrs. Maisie Madigan).
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