Beauty Queen of Lenane

The WWU theatre arts production of “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” written by Anglo-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh is labeled as a tragic comedy directed by Jessica McGlaughlin. However I felt that the production was beneath the typical that I hoped it would meet. My impression of the play was far more comedic then a tragic story due to the hysterical content material displayed in the WWU production on February 2, 2001 at the Old Primary theatre. Beauty Queen of Leenane is the first play in McDonagh’s Leenane trilogy premiering in 1996 in Galway, Ireland and has been nominated for six Tony Awards coming away with four of them along with the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for very best play of 1988.
The set design and style by Dan Zimmerman takes location in the living room of a compact cottage in rural Ireland exactly where Maurine, a middle aged woman played by Lisa Hopp who seemingly has no selection but to take care of her hypochondriac mother, Mag played by Lisa Hoyt. The area has no accessories in addition to a handful of images a television and radio. You can think about the burning hostility and feuds rising in the presence of the compact shack they live in specially with both ladies in a crooked manipulative state of mind. Nonetheless the two got along superior then I hoped they would and the communication involving them went on as even though they were joking around. The only other characters in the play are Maurine’s really like interest Pato Dooley, played by Zayce Kruse and the comic relief of the play his younger brother Ray Dooley, played by Aaron Tobiason who played his role as the comedian pictured in the book.
Lisa Hoyt’s portrayal of a complaining mother was the most amusing character in the play due to her annoying high-pitched voice comparable to nails on a chalkboard as she starts to sound like a broken record by harassing her daughter and asking for complan (a powdered drink mix, related to Metmucil) from everyone in her presence. Even extra amusing was the portrayal of Mag’s costume designed by Katina Button displaying Mag in vibrant pink loafers and Ray Dooley in a thing related to an Old Navy functionality fleece. Although Hopp’s character is not specifically appealing either mentally or physically due to her make-up by Avi Liebowitz her acting tends to make up for it, and Mag becomes the only likeable character as you can sense…

Leave a Reply