Anyone who automatically equates classic theater with the words "boring" or "pretentious" owes it to themselves to head to the Church Street Theater and check out the Keegan Theatre's wonderful revival of J.M. Synge's 1907 comedy "The Playboy of the Western World."

 

John Millington Synge was one of Ireland's foremost playwrights, and "Playboy" is generally considered his masterpiece. Director Mark A. Rhea and his cast have done a superlative job of capturing the poetry, music and, most importantly, humor of Synge's language.

 

Set in a small village on the coast of Mayo, the story begins when a young man named Christy Mahon (Carlos Bustamante) staggers into the local pub. Christy is on the run, having killed his father with a shovel to the head in the heat of an argument days earlier. Upon hearing his tale, the townspeople conclude that the father must have been a sadistic bully whose murder was an act of heroism on Christy's part. Soon, the son is surrounded by young maidens behaving like rock-star groupies. Even the town widow (Maggie Bush) has her eyes on him. But it is the pub keeper's daughter, Pegeen (Helen Pafumi), who falls the hardest for Christy.

 

A strong, independent woman, Pegeen is betrothed to a pathetic weakling (Mike Kozemchak) she doesn't love. With Christy's sudden appearance, it seems she has finally found a companion whose spirit and intelligence match her own.

Alas, Chisty's newfound celebrity status has a limited shelf life. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is the fact that the senior Mahon (Kevin Adams), having survived his son's assault, is very much alive and seeking retribution.

 

 

Synge was obviously commenting on the fickleness of hero worship and how little it takes to transform an adoring crowd into a lynch mob. This makes it all the more ironic that, at the play's premiere, a near riot erupted because the audience took "The Playboy of the Western World" personally, interpreting it as a libel against the Irish people.

Rhea acknowledges the controversy with a clever directorial conceit. One of the cast members (Mark Adams) doubles as the playwright, who introduces the various scenes with text taken from the preface that Synge wrote for a published version of the play.

 

The acting is uniformly fine, with the two leads being the standouts. Bustamante displays a great deal of charisma as Christy, expertly contrasting the character's callowness with his gift for blarney. Pafumi proves to be every bit his equal as Pegeen, a performance that is both funny and poignant. Her rendition of the play's final speech is heart-rending. When these two actors are on stage together, the chemistry between them is palpable.

 

Special mention must be made of the exquisite set designed by George Lucas. An authentic recreation of an early 20th-century Irish pub, the set makes excellent use of the Church Street space. The full moon that hovers above the set during the first scene is the perfect touch for a bittersweet romantic comedy.