Oddly enough for a play that revolves around a life-or-death poker game, Conor McPherson puts his cards on the table awfully early in The Seafarer, revealing the true identity of the mysterious Mr. Lockhart (Ciaran Hinds) about 45 minutes into this 2 ½-hour long work. This meant-to-be-shocking revelation instantly shifts the tone of the work, which has played out as a kind of quasi-Irish sitcom. And it causes McPherson (who also directed) and his extraordinary five-person ensemble to engage in a delicate balancing act between comedy and tragedy.

Unfortunately, the play -- which debuted at London's National Theater -- rambles on a bit too long in act two and doesn't deliver quite eno[...]