Irish accents, attempted murders and a lot of laughs are just a block away this weekend as the 100th anniversary production of John Millington Synge’s “Playboy of the Western World” comes to Verser Theatre.
“It all surrounds this main idea of what is the definition of playboy,” said Dan Inouye, assistant professor of theatre arts, who is directing the play. “Considering this was written in the 1900s, the definition was different and you can read [playboy] as an actor, champion, one who lives for pleasure or an imposter. All of these are different definitions and they all get played upon in the play.”
Michael Krikorian plays a young farmer named Christy Mahon who stumbles into a town with the tale that he killed his father.
“The people become enamored with him for standing up, there’s some appeal about this person and the story he tells,” Inouye said. “So everybody in the town starts pouring praises on this dim-witted farmer. Every time he has to retell the story the tale grows and soon we have this tall tale about how he’s split his father down the middle with one blow.”
The women in the town start vying for Christy’s attention, especially the Widow Quinn, played by Samantha Parrish, and Pegeen Mike, played by Valerie Martinka, who ultimately wins his affection.
“Michael and I are constantly interrupted whenever we get close to having a really intimate moment,” Martinka said. “It’s something that just continuously happens and it’s funny for us to build up to that, then nothing.”
In preparing for a play set in Ireland the cast faced multiple challenges that included mimicking the Irish accent and deciphering vocabulary used 100 years ago and in another country.
“I spent the most time researching my lines,” Krikorian said. “The language alludes to a lot of Celtic and Greek mythology. Synge was a very lyrical writer.”
“There have been days that Marcie [Bealer] and I designated that the kitchen would be an Irish-speaking area,” Martinka said. “It’s just been fun practicing with each other and realizing you’re going to sound like an idiot the first few times you try it.”
Research continued with those involved in set, props and costumes. Materials like tweed were used to make the costumes look more realistic and homemade.
“I looked up images online of what would have been worn in the early 1900s and we tried to stick with earth tones,” said Bealer, head of costumes and a townsperson. “For this show we mostly pulled pieces we already had and borrowed a lot from Henderson. We distressed clothes to make them look worn in and told Michael and Trey [Baldwin] to just throw their clothes on the floor every night.”
Daniel Collier faced another challenge with his character Shawn Keogh, a nervous man who gets picked on constantly.
“This is one of the most physical characters I have ever played,” Collier said. “There’s a part in the first act where I’m trying to leave the bar and someone grabs me by the collar, and I try to get free. You have to be very [precise]. If you are not consistent you run into walls. I got slammed into a door one rehearsal.”
With a little bit for everyone, seeing “Playboy” should be an easy decision. As Collier put it, “How many times do you get to see an Irish play?”
The play will show Feb. 19-21 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 22 at 2:30 p.m. and Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Verser Theatre. Tickets are $6 and may be purchased at the door, through the Jones Performing Arts Center Box Office at (870) 245-5563 or online at www.obu.edu/finearts.
