Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come! isn't a perfect play. In the third act, Friel allows himself to wax sentimental for a few brief moments as he checks out the misgivings that Gareth O'Donnell has during the 24 hours before he quits his Ballybeg hometown for an aunt's stateside address and a hotel job. During this long act -- there's only one intermission in the Irish Repertory Theatre's revival instead of the customary two -- Friel also signals that he's reached a denouement at least twice before truly reaching it.

On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with introducing characters late in the play, as he does with four of them. This development only seems odd because, nowadays, not[...]