Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
TagsAbbey Theatre staging imported to the U.S. from Ireland
BY MICHAEL SOMMERS
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
OFF BROADWAY REVIEW
Sam Shepard is writing in an autumnal mood lately, what with "Kicking a Dead Horse" in 2008 and now his new "Ages of the Moon," both featuring Stephen Rea as a fellow ruefully looking back on his life.
Opening on Wednesday at the Linda Gross Theater, "Ages of the Moon" presents a couple of geezers sitting all day on a porch in the boondocks, boozing and talking about women.
That's it, basically. For 75 minutes, excitable Ames (Rea) and imperturbable Byron (Sean McGinley), buds for nearly fifty years, swill bourbon and swap stories from their past - of women, horses, a clumsy brush with a famous songwriter and how the Virgin Mary miraculously appeared in the eye of a dead chicken.
Later on the men tussle, punctuated by a typically Shepard-esque explosion that's very funny. And as afternoon fades into night, Ames and Byron await a lunar eclipse and quietly talk again about women.
Not an especially dynamic or deeply profound work, "Ages of the Moon" gracefully considers mortality, regret, friendship and eternal fascination with the opposite sex. Shepard writes of these serious matters with folksy ease so the conversation naturally rambles and eddies like a country stream.
Atlantic Theater Company has imported The Abbey Theatre's original production from Ireland, and it's quite good. Famed for "The Crying Game," Rea amusingly portrays Ames as a frazzled guy whose mental fuses keep blowing. Placid but no pushover, McGinley's Byron provides a nice contrast in temperament. The actors' fluent give and take suggests how such different men managed to stay friends for so long.
Taking care not to linger over the text's contemplative moments, director Jimmy Fay paces the play well. Designer Paul Keogan's lighting very subtly moves the day from noon to night. More talk than action, the play passes along with surprising quickness, just as life has flown by for the characters here.
"Ages of the Moon" continues through March 7 at the Linda Gross Theater, 336 W. 20th St. New York. Call (212) 279-4200 or visit www.ticketcentral.com.
ALSO BY MICHAEL SOMMERS
‘The Orphans' Home Cycle' spins Texas stories of passing blessings
Voyeuristic ‘Venus in Fur' seduces viewers with laughter
Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson enhance ‘A View From the Bridge'
Broadway's ‘Present Laughter' revival offers passable amusement
Intimate rendition of ‘Our Town' remains a must-see show
NY Gilbert & Sullivan Players make do with ‘The Mikado'
‘Circle Mirror Transformation' views the games some people play
Horton Foote's ‘Orphans' Home Cycle' spins further tales about a nice guy's journey
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury shine in a darker ‘A Little Night Music'
Noel Coward's ‘Brief Encounter' flickers only dimly in Brooklyn
Mike Daisey gets crazy over the world banking crisis
James Spader, David Alan Grier and Richard Thomas argue David Mamet's ‘Race'
Cate Blanchett takes a slow ‘Streetcar' to Brooklyn
‘Law & Order' regular Julianne Nicholson stars in a smart Manhattan comedy
Texas trilogy chronicles a sorrowful 1900s childhood
Irving Berlin classics deck out ‘White Christmas'
‘The Starry Messenger' represents bad news for Matthew Broderick
Afrobeat music drives Broadway's new ‘Fela!'
Okay ‘Dreamgirls' visits the Apollo Theater
New Broadway comedy explores Victorian sex lives
Radio City Music Hall's ‘Spectacular' inaugurates holidays
‘Brother/Sister' trilogy illuminates African-American lives
‘Wintuk' returns to Madison Square Garden for holidays
‘Ragtime' stirs up America's 1900s melting pot
A dark new drama dreams up a dystopian future in ‘What Once We Felt'
Show biz egos collide in ‘The Understudy'
Lynn Redgrave takes flight as a solitary ‘Nightingale'
‘Finian's Rainbow' glows with a colorful score and story
The Big Apple Circus presents a wonderfully (Bello) Nock-about time
Neil Simon's beguiling ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs' unfolds once more on Broadway
Sienna Miller makes her Broadway debut in a sexy Strindberg classic
‘Memphis' sings and dances along the 1950s racial divide
‘Bye Bye Birdie' doesn't fly high with Gina Gershon and John Stamos
Mamet's ‘Oleanna' stars Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles
A ‘Hamlet' who knows what he's doing
‘Wishful Drinking' proves a bit hard to swallow
Flavorful acting sells ‘Superior Donuts'
Stars brighten a dark cop drama in ‘A Steady Rain'
