Date: Fri 03-Jul-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Doolin-Sherman-Players

Full Text:

(rev "Two Nights Near Doolin" @Sherman Players)

Theatre Review--

Bisogno's Work An Interesting Combination

(with cut)

By Julie Stern

SHERMAN -- Sherman Playhouse is serving up an interesting combination these

days: the original work of playwright-director Louisa Burns Bisogno, Two

Nights Near Doolin uses as its base a haunting "sean nos" ballad recounting

faithless love, mixes it with a lively dose of ceili style singing and Irish

set dancing, and weaves it together with a plot that brings the ballad to

life.

On a rainy night, two young Americans arrive at Clancy's Pub on the west coast

of Ireland, just before closing time. The moodier of the pair, Dan DiBella

(played by Chris Chamberlin) is searching for the unknown birth mother who

gave him up for adoption 28 years ago.

His companion, Josh Bernstein (Brian Feinberg), is along for moral support, as

they narrow down their search to the home for unwed mothers, where the nuns

have confided Dan's mother has been a "sean nos" singer. Further clues have

led the pair to this very pub, where she was reputed to have sung.

Clancy's is owned and operated by two middle-aged spinster sisters, the

charming Peg and the tight-lipped Maura Clancy. They are helped by their

orphaned nephew Sean, whose parents were killed in an epidemic in Africa while

doing volunteer work.

Do any of these three people have the information that can unlock the mystery?

Will any of them help Dan find the truth? Why is Peg so wistful, and Maura so

mean-spirited and suspicious? And why has Sean never married or emigrated to

Boston like his uncle, whose pretty young daughter Tara comes back to Ireland

for her college vacations, to work in the pub? Hmmm.

The dances and musical numbers, performed by a five-piece band, which open the

play and frame the story, are lively and fun to watch and listen to. Similarly

the voices of Felicia Parker (on tape) singing the sean nos ballad "Once I

loved..." and Sean Pender as the nephew Sean, singing various songs including

"Danny Boy" and "A Nation Once Again" are very appealing.

Ellen Bennett does an excellent job in the role of Peg Clancy, and is worth

seeing.

If you like Irish music and dancing a lot, you may well enjoy Two Nights Near

Doolin . Otherwise its melodramatic twists and stereoptyical characterizations

are a bit too reminiscent of daytime television.

Two Nights Near Doolin continues through July 11. For curtain times or other

information, or for reservations, call 860/354-3622.