**** I really enjoyed Dunes Arts Summer Theatre production of Outside Mullingar, a fascinating family drama set in Ireland. The characters are argumentative, contrary, negative in outlook, and they can hold a grudge for a lifetime. Outside Mullingar is a poignant love story about two lonely people who find each other in spite of themselves. 4 Spotlights.
Anthony Reilly (Peter Gertas) lives with his very cantankerous father, Tony Reilly (Robert Reidy), on Tony’s farm outside Mullingar. Tony is ill-tempered, demanding, and suspicious of the ‘modern’ farming techniques Anthony has introduced. He’s made up his mind that Anthony won’t have children, and then what will happen to the farm? He says Anthony isn’t a true Reilly because he looks like his mother’s family. Tony hints that he’s going to leave the farm to his brother’s son, who looks like a Reilly, even though the nephew lives in America.
They’ve just come home from the funeral of their closest neighbor and they’re expecting his widow, Aoife Muldoon (Morgan McCabe) and daughter, Rosemary (Danielle Bilderback), to stop in. Tony is positive that Aoife will be ready to sell a disputed piece of property. He sold that bit of land which blocks access to his farm for reasons he’s never shared. When he went to buy it back six months later, Muldoon refused to sell.
Aoife is no sooner sitting with a mug of tea when Tony demands she sell the land back to him. She tells him she can’t sell it because it belongs to Rosemary. It seems when she was seven and Anthony about 12, he knocked her down. According to her mother, she’s never forgotten or forgiven. She begged her father to give her the land, so he did.
His plans thwarted, Tony starts carping at his son, who storms out, meeting Rosemary who’d standing outside in the rain smoking a pipe and brooding. When Anthony asks what Rosemary does all day, she says she smokes. Any further conversational gambits are beyond him. It doesn’t take long for Anthony to offend Rosemary, who storms off.
Anthony is clueless about women – thinking no one would want him because he’s crazy and thinks he’s a bumblebee. Rosemary, who’s always been interested in him, persuades his father to leave him the farm.
I had a bit of trouble accepting Reidy and Gertas as father and son – what with the son towering over the father – until Tony’s ‘true Reilly’ accusations. After that, Gertas grew on me. I did have a chuckle or two when he hung an apron over his head before doing dishes.
If you enjoy watching two people flirt without actually flirting, you will love watching the back and forth between Rosemary and Anthony. Bilderback’s Rosemary really shines in this part.
Outside Mullingar was written by John Patrick Shanley. It premiered on Broadway in 2014. Debra Messing made her Broadway debut as Rosemary. The Dunes production is directed by Michael Lasswell who also designed the set and costumes.
Outside Mullingar runs through July 13th at Dunes Arts Summer Theatre, 288 Shady Oak Drive, Michigan City (Michiana Shores), IN. Parking is free. Running time is a little over two hours with an intermission. Performances: Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 2:00 pm. Since there will be no performance on July 4th, an extra performance has been added on July 3rd at 7:00 pm. Tickets range from $30-$35. FYI (219) 879-7509 or www.dunesARTS.org