| Philadelphia, Here I Come! |
Philadelphia, Here I Come!
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Counter Productions presents:
Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Philadelphia, Here I Come! Tickets and Information
Synopsis
Written by: Brian Friel
Gar, a young Irish man, prepares to leave his dull Gaelic community--and his seemingly insensitive father--to live with his aunt in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The play's key conceit is the splitting of that character into two parts: the Public Gar (Ben Griessmeyer), who is shy and frustrated by his lack of ability to communicate, especially with his father; and the Private Gar (Adam Berry), who as the personification of Gar's inner thoughts articulates every possible notion that travels through Gar's head. As Gar packs his bags, he and his inner self examine his relationships with his boorish dad, his former sweetheart, his frustrated schoolmaster, and his loving housekeeper.
User Reviews
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Review: RE:'Here I Come' explores 'inner' Irish turmoil by BGriessmeyer
PROVINCETOWN ? Actor Adam Berry hardly stops talking throughout a teatime scene in ?Philadelphia, Here I Come!? yet the silence at that table is deafening.
Berry?s character represents the inner thoughts of Gar, a 25-year-old Irishman in 1964 on his last night home before emigrating to live and work in America. Playwright Brian Friel uses the unusual theatrical device of a ?private,? invisible Gar and a ?public? Gar Ben Greissmeyer to shattering effect to flesh out who this young man is and how little of him is revealed to and recognized by those he loves.
That?s particularly true with his emotionally distant, taciturn father, played with stolid and tragic stubbornness by Tom Boland. His only son is leaving in the morning, possibly forever, and he can find almost nothing to say to him ? at the teatime meal or afterward. He is upset enough that he can?t sleep, but goes about his work, his silent eating, and an equally silent chess game with the local clergyman as if it were any other night.
And Gar is determined to not be the one to speak first. In his thoughts, expressed by Berry, he rants, he ridicules, he jockeys for attention and some emotional connection. But while sharing that meal, Greissmeyer?s public Gar just nods, chews and automatically passes the bread. During the chess game, Berry intrudes, again loudly expressing what Gar is really feeling, while ?public Gar? retires to his room and tosses and turns in bed on his last night home.
Although the play?s second act feels a bit drawn-out, director Susan Grilli has created heartbreaking scenes in a heartbreaking play. And the quiet resignation and slumped shoulders of the characters who don?t speak often express nearly as much as some of Berry?s outbursts.
Berry is superb, offering a kaleidoscope of feelings, and switching accents and moods seamlessly ? and often comically ? as Gar?s tumultuous thoughts ping-pong from trying to deal with the sad realities of his dead-end life in Ireland to fantasies about what might have been and what might yet be.
Greissmeyer is just as good in a less showy role, creating a hesitant, quietly angry and unsure young man. He misses the mother who died after his birth, is cowed by authority, and mourns his inability to face down his former girlfriend?s powerful father when he had a chance at marriage and a family of his own. And Grilli has gotten Greissmeyer and Berry perfectly attuned in playing the two sides of Gar, with Greissmeyer?s expressions and reactions matching up flawlessly with the private thoughts ? even when the two halves are not in the same room.
The entire cast, especially the main actors, do a creditable job with Irish accents. The scene of an Irish household in the ?60s is so well set ? with details like religious pictures and little shelves full of knickknacks ? that anyone familiar with even an Irish-American household from that era will nod with recognition.
Standing out in the supporting cast are two women: Gwen Kazlouskas-Noyes as the impassioned and demonstrative aunt from America, whose infectious laugh and honest chatter are a breath of fresh air to Gar?s lonely life and the quiet household; and Connie Tavanis as the loving but reserved housekeeper whose sharp comments show how well she knows this boy and yet feels powerless to change the family dynamic.
There are no easy answers here, and it?s a credit to Friel that he doesn?t try to wrap up this tragic situation neatly. It?s also a credit to Grilli and her cast that you?ll likely leave the theater worrying about what happened to everybody after the play?s action stopped.
IF YOU GO
What: ?Philadelphia, Here I Come!?
Written by: Brian Friel
Presented by: Counter Productions
When: at 2 p.m. today and 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and next Sunday
Where: Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford St.
Tickets: $18.50 and $22.50
Box office: For today?s show, 774-487-8722 or 508-487-2698; for next weekend, www.theatermania.com
rating: 5 stars · posted on 1/27/2009 at 3:15 PM
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