June 2010 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
The Tallest Man
The Irish love their ghost tales nearly as much as they love their liquor. In fact, you might say the one breeds the other. Jim Lynch's new play "The Tallest Man" weaves together plenty of Irish superstition and folklore with the simple dreams of its people to make a better life for themselves. It makes for an entertaining and savory concoction as brewed by The Artistic Home ensemble under John Mossman's spirited direction.
A gentle wisp of humor winds its way through the small rural community of Tourmakeady in County Mayo, Ireland circa 1895. Here a humble farmer is considered a leading citizen and the peasants who plow the land simply want a small portion of the soil to call their own. Is it any surprise the most popular spot in town is the public house run by Breda Kennedy (Miranda Zola) and her spunky daughter Katie (Marta Evans). Breda knows that the lovely Katie is a treasure far greater than gold, and she won't have her treasure spoiled by any worthless, good for nothing like the earnest tinker Finbar McDonough (Shane Kenyon).
Katie
loves Finbar but refuses to marry anyone of his station. The
other locals may be content with plowing and harvesting the land, but
"I've got to believe there's something else out there for
me," Finbar hopes. A sudden bit of luck at the race track
and a deed to a valuable water hole property put Finbar's dreams
within reach, and he's ready to make Breda a deal. He will hand
over the deed to the prized land in exchange for Katie's hand in matrimony.
Meanwhile, Father Andrew McLaughlin (Malcolm Callan), the spiritual leader of the hard-working community, has a little pay for play deal of his own cooking. The English landowners, represented by Thaddeus Newcombe (Eamonn McDonagh), are taxing the poor folks down to their toes, so the good Father uses some good old fashioned blackmail and Irish superstition of his own to shake down the tax man. "Pay your tribute to God's church or you won't last the year," he warns Newcomb. The English heathen have been profiting off the backs of the poor for too long, and God's "appointed messenger" is prepared to make amends. This is a dark place we are told; the angry locals are stockpiling rifles and weaponry and waiting. "I control your fate; I have the power," the priest threatens.
I confess a few of the finer points of the plot were slightly lost on me amidst the whir of the Irish dialects, but generally speaking this is a fresh and beguiling work. The cast is vigorous and likable, and the cozy little Irish garden setting by Mike Mroch and lively jig that accompanies Aaron Krister Johnson's sound design are all mighty atmospheric. Who really is "The Tallest Man"? Is he a force of good or wicked and does he even exist at all or is he just another example of the Irish blarney? I won't spoil the suspense here for you, but I will say you will have an enjoyable time finding out. The Artistic Home has expended lots of talent in service of neglected and obscure classics and they are to be commended for producing something original and mostly appealing.
The Artistic Home presents the World Premiere of "The Tallest Man" through August 22, 2010 at 3914 N. Clark Street in Chicago. The play runs 2 hours with intermission. Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $25-$27. Student/Senior tickets are $20 on Thursdays and Sundays only. For tickets call 866-811-4111 or visit www.theartistichome.org. For more information on this show, please visit the Theatre In Chicago The Tallest Man page.
About Joe Stead
Joe
Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has
involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing for
the past twenty-five years. He served as founder, producer and
Artistic Director of Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland
and Four Star Players in Tampa, Florida. Favorite productions
have included "Life With Father," "Deathtrap,"
"The Odd Couple," "The Miracle Worker,"
"Brighton Beach Memoirs," "You're A Good Man, Charlie
Brown" and "Godspell". He has also performed
leading roles in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin,"
"The Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and
most recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for
Waukegan Community Players. Joe holds a degree in Commercial
Art from Tampa Technical Institute. As a critic, he has
reviewed everything from Broadway to community theatre and major
regional theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey,
Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in
Sarasota, Florida.
Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America. He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers. He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene. Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays. His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).