Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Gabriel Byrne candidly excavates his past by wistfully WALKING WITH GHOSTS

• By drediman
• November 2, 2022
• No Comments

Last night at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre, I attended Walking with Ghosts, Gabriel Byrne’s candid one man show based on his written memoir of the same name. The 72-year-old Irish thespian was last seen on the Great White Way starring opposite Jessica Lange in the 2016 Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night.

Byrne’s theatrical memoir lovingly charts his life thus far, namely his humble childhood in Dublin, a disturbing incident as a student at an English seminary, his rise as an internationally recognized stage and screen actor, his battle with alcoholism, and his relationship with his family. I can imagine that performing such a piece on a nightly basis is cathartic for Byrne, allowing him to come to terms with aging, as well as wistfully bask in a rich past that’s slowly fading. Because perhaps the production — which was first seen this summer at the Edinburgh Festival — is based on a written memoir, the stage version is divided into distinct chapters. Although this allows Byrne to conveniently hone in on specific points in his life, the format necessarily lacks the organic flow and build of some other examples of the form (e.g., A Word or Two, Christopher Plummer’s exceptional theatrical memoir which I caught at the Stratford Festival in 2012).

Lonny Price’s staging is solid if unremarkable and a tad on the safe side. Byrne gives his own story an air of accessibility that’s easy to sink into, although at times a certain kind of generic quality sets in. Given some of the more harrowing episodes in his life, I wish the actor exuded a bit more danger and raw emotion in his performance. Nevertheless, Byrne is an excellent storyteller, and I found much to enjoy in his thoughtful and brave excavation of his past (e.g., his amusing portrayals of various people in his life).

RECOMMENDED

WALKING WITH GHOSTS
Off-Broadway, Play
The Music Box Theatre
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Through December 30