Theater Review - Home spun

Alone in our rooms, we can do anything and be anyone: superheroes, star athletes, brilliant vocalists, irresistible lovers and more. Brian Friel’s play Philadelphia, Here I Come! currently staged at Theatre Gael, shows a young man’s private thoughts, games and self-image with almost embarrassing insight.

In his tiny, yellow bedroom in Ballybeg, Ireland, Gar O’Donnell (Jeremy Cudd) puts a Mendelssohn violin concerto on his boombox and then, holding a drumstick in his hand, frenziedly alternates miming the conductor’s baton and the violinist’s bow, then begins kicking imaginary soccer goals for good measure. And he does all this accompanied by the heated play-by-play of his interior self, which is embodied in a second actor (Robert Shaw-Smith). Imagine the most ridiculous song to which you ever played air guitar and you’ll get the idea.

Through Gar’s public actions and private voice, Philadelphia, Here I Come! provides a strikingly rich perspective on the concept of “home,” which here reveals both deep emotional ties and stifling restrictions. Directed by John Stephens, Philadelphia misses a few notes but overall proves a quite engaging memory play, shaped comparably to Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie and Friel’s own Dancing at Lughnasa.

The action takes place on the eve of Gar’s departure for the American city, where he’ll work in a hotel and live with an aunt and uncle. A refrain through the play has the two sides of Gar singing the title line to the tune of “California, Here I Come!” but his excitement at the milk-and-honey prospects of America is tempered with regret at leaving the place where he grew up.

The action includes Gar speaking to intimates for what may be the last time, including his old teacher (John Stephens), a failed but beloved poet; his young love (Claire Reeves), who married another; and three long-time drinking buddies (Nevin Miller, Ricky Marson and David Pollack), who embellish anecdotes of youthful misadventures until they take on mythic proportions.

His closest confidant may be gruff, kindly Madge (Wesley Usher), who’s both housekeeper and surrogate mother to the young man. But Gar’s crucial relationship is with his father, S.B. (George Bowling), whom he’s given the highly inappropriate nickname of “Screwballs.” A soft-spoken shopkeeper in the rut of routine, Gar’s 60-ish father has trouble communicating with his son and has barely mentioned his impending departure.

Much of Philadelphia, Here I Come! has Gar holding out hope for signs of emotion and affection from his dad before he leaves. Bowling portrays “Screwballs” as a man so set in his ways he’s nearly ossified. Friel and the Theatre Gael production carefully convey the feelings between father and son without resorting to a reconciliation of unrealistic “warmth.” Reflecting on Gar leaving, the father simply says, “Terrible how time passes.”

Though the play can be heartbreakingly bittersweet, it has belly laughs as well (although the pace tends to slow down as the play nears its end). The funniest scene is a remembered visit from Gar’s Aunt Lizzy and Uncle Con (married actors Judy and Winslow Thomas). Having moved to the U.S. years ago, they’re so thoroughly Americanized that they have no trace of Irish accent and Lizzy’s verdant outfit suggests a Yank tourist’s idea of “the wearing of the green.” Judy Thomas’ broad, loud performance approaches the brink of caricature, but proves funny and believable enough for the play.

As Gar’s private voice, Shaw-Smith provides humor throughout the play, commenting invisibly on the action with just a hint of intensity, evoking Gar’s feelings of anger and confinement in both his home and Ireland itself. At dinner, Shaw-Smith plays announcer, describing “Screwball’s” every action, no matter how mundane, in mock-heroic, gigantically sarcastic terms. When Gar is alone, the two players act out adolescent fantasies (no matter that Gar is 25), with Shaw-Smith doing everything from Irish step-dancing to impersonating an American woman aroused at Gar’s Irish machismo.

Cudd effectively underplays Gar’s public face, staying sullen and internalizing the feelings that Shaw-Smith expresses overtly. Seeing them interact is to see Gar’s mixed emotions and internal debate — should I stay or should I go? — made physical. Full of mirth and melancholy, Philadelphia, Here I Come! superbly delineates the difficulty of leaving when you know all too well that you can’t go home again.

Philadelphia, Here I Come! plays through May 27 at Theatre Gael, 14th Street Playhouse, 173 14th St., with performances at 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. and 5 p.m. Sundays. $12-$18. Call 404-876-9762.??