Randuwa II: Round House Theatre: The Seafarers

A quintessentially Irish play, it is the story of four men--three brothers and a childhood friend, who come into the acquaintance of a stranger on the eve of Christmas eve to play poker. The brothers each bring there own baggage to the party. The eldest, Richard, having only recently gone blind, the middle brother, Sharkey, suddenly returned home after an affair with a married woman on the heals of his own failed marriage and estrangement from his ex- and their children, and the youngest, Ivan, turning playing hooky from his wife and family in favor of the drink into a vocation. In fact, drinking is the only thing short of parents that they seem to have in common. The childhood friend, Nicky, is the husband of the middle son's ex-wife and is raising his children which eventually leads to an altercation. And it is Nicky who brings the stranger, Mr. Lockhart, to the party. A stranger who's presence has been planned long before he hooked up with the friend. For you see, the stranger is actually Lucifer. His mission is to beat the middle brother at a game of poker and thus claim his soul. Now if, I've gotten any of the details wrong, the reason will become clear soon.

There were funny moments, though I am fairly certain that some slipped by unacknowledged. And there were dramatic moments of which the full impact that not comprehended in real time. Thought the gist of the story was clear and the ending a twist I surely would have seen coming were it not for the effort I was expending in following the dialogue.

An Irish play set in Ireland, of course the actors were training to deliver their lines with strong Irish accents. Being drunk most of the time, gave way to a cadence more in tune with Keith Richards garbled English than the Lucky Charms Leprechaun's delightful lilt! I know I missed some of the details, and sudden bursts of anger that must have been building in the course of the dialogue felt disconnected. There was a teleprompter on the side of the stage for the hearing impaired. I found myself darting my eyes towards it throughout the play.

As I said many times I never preview the reviews of the photos or anything about the plays and musicals I attend before going. I like the element of surprise. After finding my seat I glanced at the program and was delighted to see the cast was made up of 5 of the most powerful actors sharing their talents in the DMV. And everyone of them was amazing, in spite of my lack of Irish brogue fluency! Marty Lodge as Richard was so completely in character that I could help by think he was adlibbing dialogue as a blind man consumed with whiskey desperate to remain relevant in the intercourse of life. He was also the one who was most "Keith Richard"-y in his mumble-speak.

Marcus Kyd as Mr. Lockhart was an alien presence from the moment he entered the room. He clearly was not of this world, yet charmed the others, until revealing himself to Sharkey. Confident, determined, his description of hell made my skin crawl.

Michael Glenn as Ivan brought such a nuance physicality of inebriation to the stage that I half expected him to tumble into the laps of the patrons in the first row half a dozen times! He was the classic sweet drunk, and never more so in this production than when he teamed up with Marty Lodge's blind Richard to sing Ave Maria.

Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Nicky impressed me most of all. I have seen Mr. Ebrahimzadeh in over a dozen performances and each is always rock solid. But this one was very special in that I just kept thinking, "Is this really him?" The look, the presentation, the embodiment of the character. If I didn't have the program to guide my thinking, and you told me after the show that he portrayed Nicky, I would have be incredulous. In every respect that makes up a person, his Nicky was unique from anything he's done in the past.

Last but not least, Chris Genebach's embodiment of Sharkey. Chris is not a shy or subtle actor. He finds the north star in a character's raison d'etre and he that bull by the fucking horns and just doesn't let go. The play begins and ends with him on stage. And the arch of the events our his above all others. It is a journey that he shares generously with his fellow actors, and yet, he is clearly holding the reins when the lights go out.

The other standout player is the set, designed by my new favorite local Scenic Designer, Andrew R. Cohen. I've seen so much of his work this past autumn (The Tempest, The Chameleon, Monumental Travesties). With each one he finds a way to enhance the fundamental elements of the play through nuanced metaphors. In this set, the room featured is subterranean, and the key conflict is whether or not the Devil will be able to drag Sharkey into hell. In the last scene with Mr. Lockhart on stage, he glanced through a ground level window at the rising sun and acknowledges his defeat. The light overcoming the darkness--on Christmas Eve morning, no less.

Even with the dialectic difficulties, the actors present a story of hope and triumph. I mean, if 4
fucken alcoholics can defeat the Lord of the Underworld? How hard can our lives really be?