The Ferryman
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Cititour.com Review
As intricately connected as a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, as twisty as the Pacific Coast Highway and as satisfying (and filling) as eating an entire bag of Doritos in one sitting, Jez Butterworth’s “The Ferryman,” now at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, is a theatrical enterprise of the highest order.
Admittedly, the prospect of sitting for three hours and 20 minutes (with one intermission and one brief pause) can sound daunting. But odds are you will be so involved in Butterworth’s gripping family and political drama, you’ll never once check your watch during the work, which is cannily set during the height of the Northern Irish hunger strikes in 1981. Yet as brilliant as what’s on the page – and I believe the less you know going in the better – it’s what on the stage that really makes the difference here.
A stunning cast of two dozen actors (most from the show’s recent London production) bring this “epic” tale to full-bodied life on Rob Howell’s authentic Irish farmhouse set, and under the magnificent direction of Sam Mendes. The work is beautifully anchored by Paddy Considine as strong-but-gentle household head Quinn Carney, a former IRA activist turned farmer whose past reemerges after his brother Seamus’ body is discovered after a 10-year “absence,” and the stunning Laura Donnelly as Seamus’ young widow, Caitlyn, who has become the de facto female head of the large Carney household.
Their chemistry is so palpable that we’re surprised to learn that not only are they not married, but that Quinn has a wife, Mary (the lovely Genevieve O’Reilly), who has unsurprisingly retreated to her bedroom, sick not from a so-called virus but by the “competition” posed by her younger sister-in-law.
It’s a testament to both the cast and Mendes’ finely-honed skills that even roles that might otherwise lend themselves to floridity or overacting remain grounded in their own realities, from feisty Thatcher-hating Aunt Patricia (a sharp-tongued, dry-witted Dearbhla Molloy) to her brother, the chatty, booze-loving Patrick (a delicious Mark Lambert), the not-always-present Aunt Maggie (a gorgeous Fionnula Flanagan) and simpleton neighbor Tom Kettle (a superbly believable Justin Edwards), an English orphan whose mere presence angers Patricia, the family’s strongest supporter of the IRA.
More impressively for a play of this nature, Butterworth has entrusted much of the play’s emotional (and political) heft to a large cadre of young performers, most notably, sullen Rob Malone as Caitlyn’s unhappy, 14-year-old son Olsin, the handsome Fra Free as Quinn’s good-natured son Michael, the dynamic Tom Glynn-Carney as braggadocious cousin Shane Corcoran, all too willing to express not just his support of the strikers, but his own (albeit peripheral) involvement with the IRA, and Michael Quinton McArthur, who provides some much-needed comic relief as Shane’s preternaturally clever young brother Declan.
What’s especially impressive about “The Ferryman,” besides the acting, is how every scene, even those that seem like mere digressions, end up being necessary sections of Butterworth’s rich tapestry. Much like a once-in-a-lifetime cruise or your favorite attraction at Disney World, “The Ferryman” is a thrilling ride --and one you’ll regret missing getting onboard if you don’t grab a ticket.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://theferrymanbroadway.com
Cast
Paddy Considine, Laura Donnelly, Genevieve O’Reilly, Dean Ashton, Glynis Bell, Gina Costigan, Charles Dale, Justin Edwards, Fra Fee, Fionnula Flanagan, Tom Glynn-Carney, Stuart Graham, Mark Lambert, Carla Langley, Conor MacNeill, Colin McPhillamy, Rob Malone, Dearbhla Molloy, Glenn Speers, Niall Wright
Open/Close Dates
Opening 10/21/2018
Closing 7/7/2019
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 10/2/2018
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
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