Review: 'Dancing at Lughnasa' by Amity Creative Theatre

Dedicated to the memory of Ruth M. Sasso on her December birthday

Woodbridge, CT - The play chosen for Amity HS students was DANCING AT LUGHNASA, a memory play written by dramatist Brian Friel in 1990. The program indicated that it was originally produced on the New York Stage by Noel Pearson in association with Bill Kenwright and Joseph Harris.

Featuring a mostly female cast, the play is set in Ireland's County Donegal in August of 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. The story is told from the point of view of the now adult Michael Evans, who serves as the narrator and also becomes the voice of his seven-year-old unseen self. He remembers the summer he spent in a cottage with his mother’s sisters and brother when he was a shy seven year old. Michael and the audience watch as his unmarried aunts' search for and find the potential for love, only to lose it as the hardships of their life in Ireland begin to cripple them.

Brian Friel's multi award-winning play is considered a masterpiece, portraying the strength and bravery of the five sisters who somehow manage to dance in a final celebration of their lives, before they change drastically and forever. I must admit that there were some finer points that I missed in the two acts, and some of the students in the audience may have as well, but I admired the work that must have gone into bringing the full-length work to this high school stage. A couple seated near me commented that the yearly play gives students that may not be able to sing and dance a chance to audition, but in fact, most of the members of this cast were required to do both, and I know from previous Amity productions that most of them can do so very well, as you can see from their linked credits below.

This piece must have been a challenge for the production team, but the talented cast members rose to everything required of them, as is always the case at Amity. While there are few light moments, the story is a heavy one at best that is almost lyrical in nature, although the dancing itself is quite lively and notably considered a sin by the family's religion. I give the students and the adults who work with them much praise for taking on this work that I had never seen before.

The young performers strived to age up considerably to embody their characters. Ryan Kennedy (Frank, Jr. in CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT) had to explain his memories as an adult and then step into the voice of himself as a seven-year-old child born out of wedlock. Of course, this talented young actor did so easily and made the most of both parts. McKenna Maxwell (CATCH ME) played his mother Chris and did well with her character arc and the required dance moves. Macie Cox (CATCH ME) was one of Michael’s aunts, the one in charge of feeding the chickens. Audrey Jurzyk (CATCH ME) was quite lovely as her sister Agnes and Grace Blanchard (THE CURIOUS INCIDENT, TARZAN) was her presumably younger sister Rose.

Tayla Braverman (CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, did very well as perhaps the best drawn character of the sister Rose, a schoolteacher who is the most prim, proper and pious of the five sisters. Jacob Lee (Jacob in THE CURIOUS INCIDENT, CATCH ME) grayed his hair to portray their brother Jack, a priest who has recently returned from a leper colony in Africa. And Marty Gnidula (THE ADDAMS FAMILY, CATCH ME) was perfectly cast in the role of Micheal’s wayward father, a charming rogue who loves to dance.

Robert Kennedy always directs his students with care and also served as the dialect coach, which was convincing across the board. Mr. Kennedy was also the producer/technical director for the play. Mrs. Andrea Kennedy helped the actors with the authentic choreography that is essential to the action. Mr. Kennedy designed the charming set of the cottage that included a fireplace, a crucifix on the wall and an outdoor area; Laura Adair was the charge artist. Dan Hassenmayer designed the gentle lighting and I appreciated the spotlight on the wireless that sat on stage left. Julie Chevan did very well with the costume design, assisted by Abagail Slanski and Anna Marinescu, and Mrs. Kennedy was credited by the actors for hair design. Eva Gorden secured the period props that added to the authenticity nicely.

I cannot think of another production that included a credit in the program for a “knitting coach,” but Connie Matheson deserves a shout out for her work with the actors.

Mr. Kennedy acknowledged the large number of Amity students that came out to support their classmates. He also thanked the students involved in the play and the supportive parent committee (PAC.) The fall/winter play is made possible by a grant from the fabulous Jamie Hulley Arts Foundation and Judy and Fred attended the same performance that I did. The foundation is responsible for 13 plays and 25 musicals produced at Amity, a most impressive record. This school year’s spring musical will be THE DROWSY CHAPERONE running the end of March and the first weekend in April.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.

Click here to read about Naugatuck/Bethwood Patch Mayor Nancy Sasso Janis.