Jobsite’s performers and direction are so strong that the bleakness of the house, characters, and situations in The Lonesome West town of Leenane make laughter at them seem uncharitable. Martin McDonagh may have been inspired by Sam Shepard’s True Weststory of two brothers’ rivalry, but the Irishman puts his tragicomedy in the context of greater spiritual as well as temporal degradation and losses.
Coleman (frightening David M. Jenkins, like a caged wild animal) killed his father over a remark about his hair (which is indeed unkempt). As blackmail for maintaining that the murder was an accident, Valene got his brother to allow him their full inheritance. The brothers’ constant incivility to each other reflects the “wild west” aura of their Irish outpost and nearly bare house that Valene (bigger, slower, more conventionally cute Matt Lunsford), with eyes shining greedily, decorates with figurines of saints. He seems to equate his collecting with possessing virgins and a sacred heart.
Father Welsh, the alcoholic parish priest, is the only one trying to mend the brothers’ broken bond. Ineffectual in affecting his parishioners’ lives in general (so many seem to die in such short time, and now there’s been a suicide), Brian Shea’s powerfully pitiful Father Welsh seems to think concentrating on the siblings specifically might work.
Girleen, the other visitor to Valene’s house, brings him the poteen liquor her father brews for sale. Young and earthy (Caitlin McDonald Eason, most interesting when flirting), she’s friendly to all (actually, with a crush on Father). But she never gets near finding a soul mate in any. Or, in the lads, any soul at all.
Though the brothers’ conflicts (e.g. Coleman stewing Valene’s figurines or shooting up a new stove; Valene restricting potato-chip consumption) rise ever higher, it’s Father’s challenge that takes over and that becomes deadly.
As spiritual death ironically gives way to the brothers sharing life anew, a series of confessions and expressions of sorrow by each of them to the other results in comedy that turns tragic. The high point of the drama is also its low point. Except for it being a few minutes too long, it’s typical of what makes a McDonagh play worth seeing and hearing.
One quibble: The acoustics in the Shimberg could be improved by adjusting the level of sound to the number of audience members who absorb it. I found it often hard to make out bits of dialogue not delivered downstage or directly to the house. Also, musical bridges could well be toned down.
