Brian Friel lovers could not ask for a finer production of his 1992 Best Play Tony winner Dancing At Lughnasa than Open Fist Theatre Company’s 2019 revival. Non-devotees might find their attention wandering during its long, chitchat-filled first act, but once Friel’s memory play takes fire post-intermission, the latest from Open Fist more than merits curtain-call cheers.

 Standing in for acclaimed Irish playwright Friel—himself a mere seven years of age when Dancing At Lughnasa unfolds in County Donegal in the year 1936—is adult narrator Michael (David Shofner), who recalls a life-changing summer spent with his single mother Chris Mundy (Caroline Klidonas) and her five unmarried siblings.

Devout, vinegary eldest sister Kate (Martha Demson) teaches at the local elementary school, though perhaps not for much longer if attendance continues to decline.

Earth-mother Maggie (Lane Allison) serves as the family cook, housekeeper and, to sourpuss Kate’s dismay, the one most likely to dance when the urge strikes.

Agnes (Ann Marie Wilding) and Rose (Sandra Kate Burck) knit gloves to contribute to the family finances, and while it’s clear that Rose is what they used to call “simple-minded,” that hasn’t stopped her from canoodling with a married man when her sisters’ eyes are turned.

As for middle sis Chris, well it’s been thirteen months now since her son’s charming but ne’er-do-well father Gerry (Scott Roberts) has been in town, but that will soon change with his arrival in the tiny village of Glenties.

And Gerry isn’t the only one to come back to County Donegal.

Father Jack (Christopher Cappiello), Michael’s uncle and the eldest of the six Mundys, has at long last returned to his native land after decades of service to the Catholic church in pagan Uganda.

I’ve now seen three different productions of Dancing At Lughnasa, and all three times, I’ve found it hard to get into a first act that has the Mundys doing not much more than going about their mundane daily chores and engaging in inconsequential small talk, much of it revolving around town folks we never meet and local events we never see.

Scenes involving young Michael prove the most engaging, with adult Michael voicing his younger self from decades into the future, and just wait until Dancing At Lughnasa’s most memorable sequence has all five sisters launching into the most unrestrainedly joyous of dances.

Still, if ever there was a second act that merits sticking around for, it’s Dancing At Lughnasa’s, sparked by disturbing revelations about Father Jack’s Ugandan past and the six Mundys as yet unlived future, and with Barbara Schofield directing an all-around masterful cast, Dancing At Lughnasa makes it two Open Fist revival winners in a row.

Demson’s performance as the stern, judgmental Kate is all the more powerful when eldest sis reveals the ocean-deep love lying just beneath the surface, Allison’s feisty Maggie and Wilding’s sweet Agnes are both worth remembering as well, and Burck is simply heartbreaking as the intellectually challenged Rose.

A luminous Kildonas ignites sparks with Roberts’ irresistible rascal of a Gerry, and Shofner gives Michael a quiet charm and appeal, though like others before is hampered by Friel’s directive that Michael speak a seven-year-old’s lines in a jarringly adult voice.

 Most stunning of all is Cappiello’s devastating work as a man doing his best to deal with illness, memory loss, and a return to a country and faith he no longer considers his own.

As gorgeously designed as it is performed, Dancing At Lughnasa benefits enormously from James Spencer’s stark but still welcoming Irish farmhouse set (properties by Bruce Dickinson and Ina Shumaker), Mylette Nora’s weathered period village wear, Tim Labor’s emotionally impactful sound design, and Matt Richter’s exquisite lighting.

Last but not least, Jason Gorman merits major snaps for his exuberant choreography and Deborah Ross-Sullivan for her spot-on, Donegal-specific dialect coaching.

Jennifer Zorbalas takes over the role of Kate beginning July 27. Neil Oktay is Gerry understudy/swing.a

Dancing At Lughnasa is produced by Demson. Ben Martin is associate producer. Kaitlin Chang is associate lighting designer. Jennifer Palumbo is production stage manager.

Those with a preference for plot-propelled theater are highly advised to resist any temptation to skedaddle when Dancing At Lughnasa’s talky first act comes to a close. By the time Michael Mundy bids a final farewell to the village of his birth, you’ll be more than glad you stayed put.

Open Fist Theatre Company @ Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village.
www.openfist.org

–Steven Stanley
July 15, 2019
Photos: Darrett Sanders

Tags: Atwater Village Theatre, Brian Friel, Los Angeles Theater Review, Open Fist Theatre Company