January may be frigid, but it's perfect weather to see an indoor play at LyricArts in Anoka. Bloomsday by Steven Dietz and directed by Elena Giannetti transports its audience to the Bloomsday Festival which began in 1954, a celebration to honor the life of Irish writer, James Joyce.
Love hangs in the air of 1950's downtown Dublin, Ireland. Robert (Jeffery Goodson) struggles with regret and missed opportunities as he reflects on his life and his chance encounters with true love, Caithleen (Gillian Constable). Four characters transition back and forth between the present and past with Caithleen (Lolly Foy) and Robert (Brandon Homon) playing the younger characters. They freeze spontaneously so that the older Caithleen and Robert tell us what they were thinking.
Caithleen’s tours though Dublin recreate much of James Joyce’s life, as his work is largely autobiographical. His characters mirror many of his life experiences from the anniversary of Joyce and Nora’s first date to the inevitable moment of Molly Bloom’s infidelity. Caithleen gives her perspective on what it may have been like for a woman to live during that time. “Yeah-go on-call Molly Bloom some kinda whore-...I don’t know why everyone does that-I don’t know why you can’t kiss a man without going and marrying him first?”
Issues that revolve around Caithleen’s promiscuity mimics that of great Molly Bloom and are a testament to her own decision not to stay with Robbie, showing how history repeats itself. Steven Dietz’ take away message may be how mindfulness can help one grapple one’s current situation.
Funnier moments happen when the characters poke fun at one another during their reading of Ulysses, a work meant to be read aloud for rhythm and inflection, taking into consideration the Irish dialect. The characters read a few sentences, “Mahr,(more) tell me mahr,” said Robert (Brandon Haron) in an Irish accent, getting a laugh from the audience. Reference is made to the novel's seven hundred and fifty page length (which takes an average of thirty-two hours to read). When Caithleen says Molly Bloom is the hero of the book, Robert responds, “Are you kidding? The hero of Ulysses is the reader! Whoever can make it to the end.”
Given the large set, one may feel that something extraordinary is going to happen on stage. Upon walking into the theatre, I noticed the twenty-foot scaled building that represents the city of Dublin with finely etched store fronts with names like The Irish Pub or the Sweny. It reminded me of the Orpheum’s New York set of Rent. It's my belief that the creative team may have overestimated the capacity for the set and the character’s use of it, perhaps a smaller set would have worked fine and created a sense of intimacy.
All in all the cast is great. Brandon Homon was memorable for his ability to be down to earth. His goofy reactions lit up the stage. It's difficult to comment on the story's narrative without giving away the ending but I'll say that if you've read James Joyce's,Ulysses, you may have the upper hand. I plan to come back to LyricArts, and I may even brush up on Ulysses. Next month, the theatre will be showing Flora and Ulysses, opening Feb 14-23.
Tickets for 'Bloomsday' through Jan. 26 at http://www.lyricarts.org/tickets
That sounds like a lot of fun.
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