ZZ Moor (Kate), Amy Resnick (Margie) and Mark Anderson Phillips (Mike) in the Bay Area premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People at Marin Theatre Company, now through September 15. Limited engagement! Photo by Ed Smith
GOOD PEOPLE by David Lindsay-Abaire. Directed by Tracy Young. Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941.(415) 388-5208 or www.marintheatre.org.
August 22 – September 15, 2013
GOOD PEOPLE another winner at Marin Theatre Company.
It has been an auspicious four days for theatre goers in the Bay Area with two stunning productions of plays with strong women lighting up the stages, first at TheatreWorks and last night at the Marin Theatre Company (MTC). The social milieus depicted in each play are as far apart as the 50 miles that separates the two venues. In Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz we share a slice of life of the intellectual and affluent while in David Lindsay-Abaire’S Good People we are transported to the struggling less educated blue-collar class in South Boston. The play opened in New York to rave reviews in 2011 and has gone on to become the most produced play of 2012-13 seasons in the United States. MTC’s staging is the West Coast premiere and should not be missed.
Although not semi-autobiographical, David Lindsay-Albaire the 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Rabbit Hole was born in South Boston, struggled to become successful and the verisimilitudes of his characters is genuine. Margie (brilliant Amy Resnick) is a single mother with an adult mentally and physically disabled daughter who requires full time care causing her to be consistently late for work as a cashier in a Dollar Store. This leads to her being fired by the manager Stevie (Ben Euphart) whose mother was a friend to Margie as well as a local loveable though eccentric character whose exploits provided many laughs for the denizens of the neighborhood.
We discover the depth of Margie’s plight in a tightly constructed second scene when she is sharing a cup of coffee with her two best friends Dottie (Anne Darragh) and Jean (Jami Jones). The interaction between these three top-notch actors is a study in how ensemble acting should be staged. It helps that Lindsay-Albaire is a master at writing colloquial dialog that defines character and carries the plot forward. Margie’s main concern is finding another job to afford paying for the rent and her daughters care.
A local newspaper has published an article about a former schoolmate and boyfriend Mike (Mark Anderson Phillips) who has become a successful doctor living in upscale Chestnut Hill. Dottie and Jean encourage Margie to approach Mike to seek a job. She does and after an uncomfortable exchange of pleasantries and coercion, Mike reluctantly offers Maggie an invitation to his birthday party.
Back at the church Bingo parlor, the trio of Maggie, Dottie and Jean, with a bingo addict Stevie an uninvited player, the discussion about Margie’s up coming trip to the party is interrupted by a telephone call. It is Mike calling to say his daughter is ill and the party has been canceled. The women are not winners at Bingo but Stevie is. This leads to an explosively humorous curtain line for the end of Act one.
At the home of Mike and his black wife Kate (a stunning ZZ Moor) they are discussing appointments for professional marriage counseling when Margie arrives into their “lace curtain Irish” home. Slowly with intricate sub-rosa dialog and climactic confrontation between the three Margie’s revelations, that may be true or false, threatens Kate and Mike’s family life. Kate becomes a tiger at that threat and ZZ Moor lights up the stage with her ferocity. You will not learn more in this review other than to say the definition of “good people” takes a beating. It is in a final scene, a true epilog, that “good people” is given a spoken definition.
Anne Darragh (Dottie), Amy Resnick (Margie), Jamie Jones (Jean) and Ben Euphrat (Stevie)
Although Amy Resnick and Mark Anderson Phillips are the featured actors and deliver outstanding performances, the supporting cast adds depth to the evening with solid acting. One wonders why ZZ Moor not been seen more often in the Bay Area. Her performance, although limited to the second act, is absolutely memorable.
Director Tracy Young keeps a tight rein on the cast and Running time is about 2 hours and a 15 minute intermission
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com
