It was probably inevitable that the first professional production of a play concerning what the news calls The Crisis in the Catholic Church be presented here in Boston. That it would be written by an Irish playwright as part of the Graduate Playwrighting Program at B.U. and was selected for the 2002 Kennedy Center American Theatre Festival Student Playwrighting Award was not. Moreover The Lepers of Baile Baiste is set in today's Ireland where the same problem, priestly abuse of young male parishioners, has been addressed with much less fanfare, though concerns are mounting. The setting, characters, and language place Ronan Noone in the same arena as current young Irish dramatists, Martin McDonagh and Connor McPherson, and he does not pale in comparison. This show is tightly scripted with many subtle twists and turns, leading to a devastating final confrontation between all the young men and their local priest Where Noone take his writing from here will bear watching.
This production by the Sugan Theatre Company is up to their usual hard-edged standards. Award-winning director Carmel O'Reilly has drawn the cast from local Irish actors, some of the best in Boston, many of whom have triumphed in previous roles for Sugan. Dubliner Billy Meleady (Sean "Seaneen" Casey) got last year's Best Supporting Actor IRNE for two Sugan shows. Fellow Irishman Colin Hamell (Michael "Laddeen" Toner) played opposite Meleady in Sugan's "Lonesome West" and was nominated for a Best Actor IRNE. Originally from Limerick, Derry Woodhouse (Aloysius "Yousa" O'Dowd), had the lead in last year's labor drama, "Molly Macguire" and has appeared several times in Shakespeare at the Publick Theatre. Ciaran Crawford (Patrick "Kellogg" Casey) was compelling a season ago in "This Lime Tree Bower", and joined Billy and Derry to bring a little brogue to the Publick Theatre last summer. Chris Burke (Daithi O'Neil) appeared several years ago for the company and recently finished shooting for Sean Penn's "Mystic River". John Morgan (Father Gannon), originally from Galway, was seen several seasons ago in "The Playboy of the Western World" at the Lyric. Josef Hansen (Peter "Clown" Quinn) on the other hand, was last seen locally as the lead in "Little Shop of Horrors". And veteran character actor,Ed Peed(Police Sergeant Michael O'Brien), has performed in a variety of accents for many regional theatres here in New England, including the New Rep and Lyric West.
These actors, Irishmen or not, look and sound their parts, helped by Mary Linda's careful costuming. The ensemble work is superb, aided in no small measure by another realistic set from Harvard's J. Michael Griggs, a tacky pub whose half finished wall murals have disturbing religious scenes. Rick Brenner brings back the sound of rain to a Sugan show, while Neil Anderson's lighting continues to make the most of the limited possibilities in the BCA. The technical details combine to create a convincing environment.
The play itself is a wrenching examination of the effects of the sexual abuse on these five young men underwent at the hands of a Christian Brother during their early teens. A sixth, never seen, has just returned from drying out at the madhouse, after he slashed his father, the local police sergeant. All seem to suffer from sexual inadequacy to a far greater extant than usual. And their drinking is only moderate when compared to the town tosspot, "Seaneen." Meleady really cuts lose for this part, creating a semi-coherent violent drunk, tolerated as an amusement in this benighted town. As "Laddeen," Hamell is the instigator of vicious sexual innuendo. Woodhouse's "Yousa" is a bragging womanizer who eventually flees to Americkay. Burke's character, whose come back to town to force a confrontation with the parish priest who tolerated their abuse, finally gets a knickname, "Snake," from the most miserable of the lot, "Clown", whose mother is the priest's housekeeper. Noone's script digs into the special sense of violation these men feel in scenes not easy to forget. As the promotional material suggest, the Cardinal isn't going to come see this one.
"The Lepers of Baile Baiste" takes its title from a sermon by Father Gannon about Father Damien where he labels sin as leprosy, and warns of its insidious contagion. His homily rings painfully true by the end of the evening. This play is the first of a trilogy. The second script, "The Blowing of Baile Gall", directed by Weslet Savick, will premiere at the Boston Playwrights' Theatre in December. Call (617) 358-PLAY for information or surf over to http://www.bu.edu/BPT and consult their calendar.