A Man of No Importance

 A-

John Doyle ends his six-year tenure as artistic director of CSC with an excellent revival of this modest 2002 musical with book, music and lyrics by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens respectively. The repressed homosexual protagonist, Alfie Byrne (Jim Parsons), is a Dublin bus conductor with a crush on his handsome driver Robbie Fay (A.J. Shively). Alfie lives with his older sister Lily (the always wonderful Mare Winningham), who has put off marriage until she sees her brother wed and settled. Alfie’s main interest in life is the amateur theater group devoted to the works of Oscar Wilde that he leads at the local church. His latest project is Wilde’s Salome even though it is unlikely that the church will allow it. He recruits the reluctant Adele (Shereen Ahmed), a beautiful young woman newly arrived in Dublin to play the title role. The cast is universally excellent. The motley crew of amateur actors are played to the hilt by a fine ensemble that includes CSC alums Mary Beth Peil, Thomas Sesma, Alma Cuervo, Kara Mikula, Jessica Tyler Wright and William Youmans, as well as Da’von T. Moody, Nathaniel Stampley and Joel Waggoner. As actors in a Doyle production are wont to do, most of them also play instruments. Doyle's set is bare-bones with folding chairs prominently deployed. Flaherty’s Irish-inflected score is easy on the ears and Ahrens’s lyrics develop character and move the plot. McNally’s affecting book stumbles a bit toward the end, but not enough to diminish one’s pleasure. I know I was deeply moved. Running time: one hour 45 minutes, no intermission.

Becky Nurse of Salem

C

When a MacArthur Fellow playwright (Sarah Ruhl) and a Tony-winning director (Rebecca Taichman) return to Lincoln Center Theater, scene of two of their earlier successes (The Oldest Boy, How To Transcend a Marriage), with a new play starring Tony winner (Deirdre O’Connell), expectations are going to be high. I regret to report that at the preview I saw today Ruhl’s odd dark comedy not only did not meet my expectations, but did not even engage my interest. Becky Nurse, a descendant of Rebecca Nurse, who was hanged as a witch in 1692, is a 62-year-old woman who works as a tour guide at Salem’s Museum of Witchcraft. She is someone who goes through life shooting herself in the foot. Her failure to stick to the script for the museum tour gets her fired by the museum’s uptight director Shelby (Tina Benko). Her teen-aged granddaughter Gail (Alicia Crowder) whom she has been raising, is currently hospitalized for depression. Gail’s mother died from an opioid overdose and grandma is secretly addicted too. Becky’s only friend seems to be noble barkeep Bob (Bernard White), who had been her high school boyfriend but married someone else. Becky disapproves of Gail’s new friend Stan (Julian Sanchez), a Wiccan who introduces Becky to a modern witch (Candy Buckley) for help solving her problems. Complications arise. Becky goes to jail and has visions of the original Salem trials. Thomas Jay Ryan doubles as jailer and judge. The game actors are committed to their roles. Riccardo Hernandez's minimalist set has rolling modules that efficiently set the scene. I could have done without the jail-cell toilet. Emily Rebholz's costumes are apt.The script mixes a look at Salem’s complicated relationship to its history, a response to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a nod to the mania of Trumpism, a superficial exploration of witchcraft and a cautionary tale about opioid addiction. The mix does not blend well. I was left wondering what the point was. On the plus side, it provides employment for a lot of talented people. Running time: two hours, five minutes including intermission.