DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Starring in Manoa Valley Theatre's "The Cripple of Inishmaan" are, in the front row, Jo Pruden, left, as Kate Osbourne and Cecilia Fordham as Eileen Osbourne. In the back row, left to right, Clara Dalzell is Helen McCormick, Duncan Dalzell is Bartley McCormick and Swaine Kaui is BabbyBobbyBennett.
Hell may well be something akin to life on the Irish island of Inishmaan back in 1934. Inishmaan is a clannish and claustrophobic place populated by people who seem, for the most part, to fit into one of three categories: the obnoxious, the simple-minded and the borderline mental cases. Difficult drama
provokes emotionsReview by John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.comThere's JohnnyPateenMike, the island's self-important free-lance snoop, who spends his time collecting and spreading small bits of "news" in exchange for handouts and more gossip. There's Mammy, his alcoholic mother, who hates him as much as he hates her (her goal in life is to attend his funeral). Sadistic and promiscuous young Helen McCormick amuses herself by throwing raw eggs at people when she's not doing worse things. And Kate Osbourne has conversations with stones.
In the middle of this human zoo lives young Billy Claven, known to almost all as "Crippled Billy," the titular character in Martin McDonagh's challenging play, "The Cripple of Inishmaan."
First staged in Hawaii two years ago as part of Vanita Rae Smith's "Reader's Theatre" program at Army Community Theatre, it is now being presented with full sets and costumes as the final show of the 2001-02 season at Manoa Valley Theatre. Smith is again directing the show, but the cast is new.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Michael Hanuma, left, plays Bill Claven, the title character in "The Cripple of Inishmaan." He and Swaine Kaui, who plays BabbyBobbyBennett, shared a scene in rehearsal last month.
McDonagh's story is challenging for several reasons. First, it requires some attentive listening to understand the characters' heavy accents. Secondly, this is slow-paced theater. There are several long conversations that have all the substance of a "Seinfeld" episode, and a recurring joke with a good punch line about the various types of people who want to live in Ireland.
The ambiguities of the story are also challenging. Several of the central issues are never clearly resolved. At least a few of the characters are apparently more, or possibly less, than they appear to be. That includes Crippled Billy.
BILLY WAS BORN with a deformed arm and leg. His deformities were caused by his father beating his mother while she was pregnant ... or maybe not. His parents died shortly after his birth. Maybe they deserted him and drowned while trying to escape Inishmaan and start over. Maybe they committed suicide.
Billy passes his time reading and looking at cows because cows aren't judgmental. When word reaches Inishmaan that a Hollywood director is shooting a film on the neighboring island of Inishmore, no one is more determined to get a role in the production than Billy, except perhaps the sadistic and sexually provocative Helen (Clara Grace Dalzell).
Helen plans to use her feminine wiles to persuade gruff BabbyBobbyBennett (Swaine Kaui) to take her to Inishmore in his dingy. There's room for Helen's brother, Bartley (Clara's real-life brother Duncan Dalzell), and one more person, but BabbyBobbyBennett says it's bad luck to have a cripple in a dingy. How, then, will Crippled Billy get to Inishmore?
Michael Hanuna, recently seen as comic villain Rooster Hannigan in Diamond Head Theatre's production of "Annie," does excellent work here as McDonagh's crippled protagonist. It takes Hanuna only a moment onstage and few lines of dialogue to establish Billy as a likable guy trying to escape insular and inbred Inishmaan.
Jerry Tracy gives a similarly impressive performance as JohnnyPateenMike, the self-righteous town busybody who uses gossip as a form of social coercion and personal gain. Tracy shares some of the show's darker comic moments with Marsha Walstrum (Mammy). Walstrum stole the show on opening night with her first appearance. Her brutal, bickering exchanges with Tracy added zest throughout the play, even though most would cringe at such a pair under other circumstances.
"The Cripple of Inishmaan"Playing at Manoa Valley Theatre through July 28. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 4 p.m. Sundays.
Tickets are $25; call 988-6131.
Dalzell adds a mesmerizing presence as the cruel and promiscuous Helen. She wears the role like a toxic second skin and is particularly good in balancing the opposing aspects of the character, making Helen both repellent and dangerously attractive.
Duncan Dalzell has an important part in many of the lighter comic moments as Helen's hapless brother, Bartley, a young man fascinated by telescopes.
Cecilia Fordham and Jo Pruden, who've shared the stage several times over the years, mesh perfectly once again, this time as Billy's elderly guardians.
Swaine Kaui gives a solid performance as the mysterious BabbyBobbyBennett, and Christopher J. Higgens is the voice of sanity as Dr. McSherry.
In fairness to director Smith and the playwright, it should be noted that much of what makes "The Cripple of Inishmaan" so thought-provoking can't be mentioned in a review without spoiling the experience. Once again, be forewarned that the going is slow and difficult at times, but there are moments of humor.
"The Cripple of Inishmaan" will not likely have the ready appeal of several other productions that are opening in Honolulu this month. Adventurous theatergoers, however, will find it a perfect choice.
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