No Leprechauns, but a wee bit of the whimsical in SMP´s "Da"

--- Theatre review

Just in time for the St. Patrick´s Day season, the Sierra Madre Playhouse has opened what many consider the late playwright, Hugh Leonard´s "masterpiece," and the "most Irish play of 20th Century."

Autobiographical in nature and filled with more ghosts than Dickens´ "A Christmas Carol", "Da" is the story of a grown man returning to Ireland to dispose of his late father´s paltry possessions. In doing so, he confronts the memories - and in his case, the apparitions – of those who powerfully shaped his youth, with his quixotic father – his Da – the central figure.

Rees Pugh plays the grown-up Charlie, a successful playwright, ill at ease now in the tiny Irish croft that was once his youthful home. As he wanders through it, touching the remaining bits of habitation, remembering with bitterness or perhaps with wistful regret, a life lived so many "eons" ago, an old friend drops in to pay his respects, or is it to seek a loan?

Austin Grehan plays the diminutive Oliver, now a married man with a brood of his own, who was Charlie´s youthful chum. Time has separated them in more ways than distance and as their conversation winds awkwardly down an older gent appears and begins to contradict Charlie.

An astonished double take clues the audience that this is the ghost of his deceased father, his "Da," whom only Charlie can see. Played with insight and a craft as well honed as Olivier´s, David Doty delivers a solid performance as first the father of the teenaged Charlie, and then as a semi-senile old man. His performance is worth the price of admission!

But this is just the first of Charlie´s visitations. He watches with increasing astonishment the appearance of himself as a gangly youth (T.J. Marchbank) trying desperately to come of age, his simple, but strong-willed, no-nonsense mother (Amelia White), a younger version of his pal Oliver, and Mr. Drumm (John Harnagel), the self-important, wealthy businessman who grudgingly gives Charlie his first job, along with a lot of good, but unheeded advice.

The teenaged Charlie with hormones raging, makes a fool of himself over a seductive blond (Lila Dupree), known on the streets as the "Yellow Peril," and is only just "saved" by the appearance of his Da who "ruins his chances with her." Later, an older Charlie sees his Da being equally humiliated by the arrogant Mrs. Prynne (Karen Kahler), his ostentatious employer who repays his many years of service with a pittance.

A tender scene between a very young Charlie and his Da, up on a hillside with a view that almost goes on forever (a very clever piece of set building) evokes tears as the two talk about fears.

Both humorous and poignant, "Da" is, as predicted, a very Irish play, complete with that persistent underlying sense of guilt that seems to haunt the Irish – and particularly Charlie – in the present and even into the future.

A sharp ear is necessary to enjoy this play to the fullest, as the Irish brogue is quite thick at times, and although there is a lengthy glossary of terms in the program, many colloquialisms are missed while listening to the dialogue.

Still, the story lingers in the thoughts after the "curtain" closes, and memory flashes, or perhaps just the mood of the play will "haunt" the viewer for some time, much like Charlie´s ghosts.

"Da" plays Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm and Sundays at 2:30 pm through April 17.

Admission is $20, with discounts for seniors and students. Call (626) 355-4318 for reservations, or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org

SMP is located at 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre, CA, 91024. There is plenty of free parking behind the theater.