Trending

Advertisement

“Outside Mullingar” is a funny, exasperating love story

Share

“Outside Mullingar” is not your typical love story, but one that if you’re willing to stick it out has sweet rewards and plenty of laughs.

The romantic comedy written by Tony Award, Oscar and Pulitzer winner John Patrick Shanley can be seen in an intimate setting at the Lyceum Space Theatre in downtown San Diego’s Horton Plaza.

It is the fourth show in San Diego Repertory Theatre’s 40th season and its run has been extended through Feb. 21. After it debuted on Broadway, “Outside Mullingar” was nominated for a 2014 Tony Award for Best Play.

Shanley, the author of the award-winning movie “Moonstruck” and play “Doubt: A Parable,” tapped into his Irish heritage to write “Outside Mullingar” after visiting his family’s farm in Ireland.

It features Rancho Penasquitos resident Manny Fernandes as Anthony Reilly; Carla Harting as his neighbor, Rosemary Muldoon; and real-life husband and wife Mike Genovese and Ellen Crawford as their aging parents, Tony Reilly and Aoife Muldoon. The one-act play is set in a rural community in Ireland, starting in late 2008 and spanning the four years after.

The play begins right after the funeral of Aoife’s husband. She and her daughter stop by their neighbors’ farm and Aoife asks Tony what plans he has made for leaving the farm to Anthony since she has to make similar arrangements for her farm and Rosemary. That leads to the surprising revelation to all that Tony is not likely to leave the farm to Anthony, despite his decades of work on it to keep it going, because his 40-something bachelor son is not likely to have an heir and Tony wants to ensure its ownership stays within the Reilly family, like it has for the past 120 years.

The revelation sets off a storm of emotions not only for Anthony, who feels betrayed by his father, but Rosemary who has a few secrets of her own, including an unrequited flame for Anthony that first sparked when she was 6 and the then-young teen pushed her to the ground during a birthday party. Though feigning a dislike for Anthony, the now mid-30s Rosemary’s true feelings are not so obscure to the elderly adults, unlike the clueless Anthony who has rejected romantic love ever since a girl named Fiona broke his heart at 16.

All four cast members do a terrific job in believably portraying their characters’ range of emotions, from outrage to sadness, comedic moments to tenderhearted ones. Though the subject matter is at times depressing, there are enough funny lines and situations to quickly alleviate the down times.

While a main thread of the plot is Rosemary’s unrequited love for Anthony, it is also about their constant, devoted love for their near-death parents and how the relationship between Anthony’s father and mother has unfairly colored the way Tony treats his namesake. At times that treatment is quite unfair and abusive, since Tony repeatedly says Anthony “is not a true Reilly” because Anthony’s quiet, non-confronting nature is so unlike Tony’s and Anthony physically resembles his mother’s family.

Fernandes excels in expressing the wide range of emotions and struggles Anthony experiences and Harting has excellent comedic timing since she has most of the funny lines. Her role requires exasperating patience when dealing with Anthony’s internal struggle with romantic love, one that has some very unexpected and hilarious twists and turns.

“Outside Mullingar” can be seen in matinee and evening shows until Feb. 21. Tickets are $33 to $66, with student tickets for $20 plus discounts for active military, teachers and seniors. Purchase at sdrep.org, 619-544-1000 or the box office. The Lyceum Space is at 79 Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego. Four free hours of free parking is available in the Horton Plaza garage if the parking ticket is validated inside the theatre.

Advertisement