The Eastbound Theatre in Milford has the kettle on for an intriguing cuppa Irish tea until Saturday, October 5 and you are cordially invited for a sip or three. It is 2008 at a cattle and sheep farm outside Killucan, in Ireland, and the funeral for Aoife Muldoon’s husband has just taken place. Now Aoife has sought comfort in the kitchen of her old friends Tony Reilly and his son Anothony, while her daughter Rosemary prefers to wait outside and smoke. In John Patrick Shanley’s “Outside Mullingar,” we are quickly drawn into the sensibilities and shenanigans of these neighbors, who have adjacent farms and decades of history.
The occasion of a funeral can easily spark conversations and thoughts about mortality and the preciousness and precariousness of life. Decisions can be questioned and fate evaluated, mistakes can be admitted and problems, long buried, can raise disturbing possibilities. John Bachelder’s Tony is opinionated and sure of himself. He sees his time on this earth is numbered and he is set on denying his son, Johnny Liszewski's Anothony. his rightful inheritance of the family farm, and giving it instead to his brother’s son Adam in America. Elise A. MurphyMulligan's Aoife is quite sure this is a tremendous mistake, one he will regret if he makes it.
Decades before Anothony made the dire mistake, accident or not, of pushing down a six year old Rosemary on her birthday no less and Molly McCullough’s Rosemary has never forgiven him. To punish him, she made her father purchase the strip of farm land from Tony where the embarrassing incident took place. Now Tony wants and needs that piece of land back so it will be intact for his nephew. To add a little spice to the story, Rosemary for all she is still angry at Anothony also harbors a strong affection for him, a singular love that he is unaware of existing. For his part, Anothony years before was traumatized when his own confession of love was rejected by a young villager Fiona. He has never recovered from that emotional hurt.
This sweetly sentimental tale of rejection, forgiveness, anger, misunderstanding, secrets, and affection is beautifully told, with dollops of creamy laughter to balance the bitterness of mistaken mischief. Will Tony ultimately deny his son his rightful property? Can Rosemary persuade Anothony to acknowledge all she has to offer him? Will true love triumph? This all too familiar family feud is sensitively directed by Richard Mancini.
For tickets ($35), call Eastbound Theatre, 40 Railroad Avenue South, Milford at 203-878-6647 or online at info@milfordarts.org. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. A selection of treats are available for purchase.
Pull up a rocking chair and settle back for the revelations and relationships that slip like fog into the lives of the Reilly and Muldoon families as Eastbound Theatre celebrates its thirtieth season as a valued part of the Milford Arts Council in its mission of presenting quality theatrical performances.
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