Real or Imagined

Molly Sweeney – Irish Theatre of Chicago

Set in the fictional village of Ballybeg, Ireland, Brian Friel’s story of a blind, young woman’s journey to regain her sight, and the two men who most influence her life, is a tale of how this miraculous surgery ultimately fails. Friel’s theme that seeing is not the same as understanding infuses each moment of this drama. Offering the titular character the possibility of restoring her vision is rationalized with the question, “What does she have to lose?” Well, the audience gradually learns the answer to this query, as the characters discover that things may not actually be as they appear. 

If the name of this coastal Irish hamlet sounds familiar, it’s probably because Friel has set three of his other plays here (“Philadelphia, Here I Come,” “Translations” and “Dancing in Lughnasa”). This Anglicized version of Baile Baeg, which, in Irish, means “Little Town,” provides a setting of confined isolation from the rest of the world. This rural town in County Donegal, along with all its inhabitants, collectively becomes a fourth character in Friel’s drama.

Told through a series of subjective monologues, and from three different points of view, this trio of characters all speak directly to the audience, never interacting with one another. In telling their stories about the past and present, we become their acting partner, as well as their attentive, empathetic listeners. With the fourth wall broken, Molly, her eccentric, optimistic husband, Frank, and her career-driven doctor, Mr. Rice, all confide in us as if we’re their friends. 

We learn through the narrative about family and friends, as well as how the geographical and sociological confines of Ballybeg affect each character. We discover that Molly’s father was a judge who taught his sight-impaired little girl to love the natural world around her through her senses of touch, hearing and smell. Molly also shares her haunting sorrow of a mother who was institutionalized off-and-on for emotional problems, and who blamed her frugal husband for never sending his daughter to a school for the blind. We hear from Frank how he was charmed when he initially met Molly while working as a massage therapist at a health club. He describes how their first date at a local dance allowed Molly to break free and truly express herself. Frank, who’s often unemployed, tells of hours spent in the library, reading up on a variety of subjects. He also shares his enthusiastic obsessions, from the species of bees to Iranian goats and cheesemaking, from rescuing a pair of endangered badgers to relocating to Ethiopia to help with their economy. Mr. Rice relates the details of his marriage and divorce, his first encounter with Molly and Frank Sweeney and his excitement at the prospect of successfully performing a miracle that would bring him fame.

As each character takes his turn sharing the events and their subsequent reactions and feelings about them, the audience must piece together what they interpret as real and what’s only imagined. Molly regains some of her sight through surgery, but the achievement of her operation isn’t what she imagined it would be. Molly finds that she’s lost much her familiar way of navigating and interpreting the world. The young woman’s comfort in relying on her other senses is denied by others as she’s forced by Rice, Frank and others to rediscover her world through a cloudy, imperfect vision. Frustration and depression take over the young woman and she eventually realizes that the institutionalized life her mother suffered may now become her own.

This intriguing character study, that evolves into a fascinating story, remarkably holds our interest at every turn. There’s not much action in the plot, but the story springboards from the possibility and hope of a medical miracle. As the drama progresses we recognize certain clues that appear before us, and we come to understand the sad conclusion to this play was actually foreshadowed from the start. Talented, experienced director Siiri Scott has brought truth, vitality and humor to a play that, in lesser hands, could’ve become static. Each character seems to reside in his own world, particularly as staged within Scenic Designer Jessie Baldinger’s impressive rocky, cavern-like setting. But it’s the characters’ words that meld the events together and bring the three characters, their recollections and their emotions, into one cohesive story.

The cast includes three incredibly gifted actor/storytellers, all company ensemble members, with impressive resumes from stage and screen that support their talent. The authenticity of the Irish locale is made sound by the work performed by Dialect Designer, Elise Kauzlaric. Matthew Isler is often funny and both touching and humorously engaging as Frank Sweeney; Robert Kauzlaric captivates and mesmerizes as Mr. Rice, a troubled, but obsessively motivated physician; and lovely, charismatic Carolyn Kruse is like a breath of fresh ocean air, as she effortlessly draws us into her story as Molly Sweeney. This is a magnificent production by the celebrated Irish playwright, Brian Friel, produced after a long absence by the much-admired and celebrated Irish Theatre of Chicago. A hundred thousand welcomes to this company; or, as the Irish might say,  “Cead mile failte!”   

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented March 31-May 8 by Irish Theatre of Chicago at The Chopin Studio Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the Chopin box office, or by going to www.irishtheatre.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.