THE HANGOVER REPORT – Irish Rep continues its Friel Project season with a pitch-perfect revival of PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME!

A.J. Shively and David McElwee in Irish Repertory Theatre’s production of “Philadelphia, Here I Come!” by Brian Friel (photo by Jeremy Daniel).

For its ambitious Friel Project season, Irish Repertory Theatre has to date presented superb productions of Brian Friel’s Translations and Aristocrats. Continuing that successful trend is the Off-Broadway theater company’s practically perfect revival of the master Irish playwright’s Philadelphia, Here I Come! (Irish Rep’s Friel season concludes next month with the opening of Molly Sweeney). First performed in 1964, the play — which put Friel squarely on the map as a talent to watch — tells the story of one Gar, a young man who faces conflicting emotions on the eve of his emigration from the small Irish town of Ballybeg to Philadelphia.

The production has been lovingly directed by Ciarán O’Reilly (Irish Rep’s producing director), who returns to the beloved play after having previously directed it for the Chelsea-based theater company back in 2005. It’s clear that he has deep affection for the play and its bevy of vividly-wrought characters. Throughout, O’Reilly (who also appears in the production) fully embraces the many emotional hues of the play, in effect mounting a production that amounts to a true tragicomedy. In turn heartbreaking and lush with character detailing, the whole endeavor seethes with authenticity. Friel’s play isn’t an easy one to pull off — there are some scenes that require immaculate attention to detail — but O’Reilly pulls it off with grace and simple elegance.

The acting throughout is pitch-perfect. Leading the large cast in the roles of “private” and “public” Gar, A.J. Shively and David McElwee are a match made in heaven. Their chemistry is sensational, with McElwee fleshing out the character’s reserved and sensitive outer manifestation to the world, while the brilliantly physical Shively boldy and uninhibitedly animating his vibrant inner life. Together, they paint a simultaneously wrenching and touching portrait of a young man awash in nostalgia, heartache, and anticipation. Of the supporting cast, Terry Donnelly as tough loving Madge and O’Reilly as Gar’s stoic father are standouts; both give fully lived in performances that have stuck with me.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME!
Off-Broadway, Play
Irish Repertory Theatre
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Through May 5

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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