Thursday, April 20, 2006  

Dynamotological Charge
"The Gigli Concert" tackles big dreams and suspect therapy

Washington Post Express, April 20, 2006; page 39

Playwright Tom Murphy stuffs big words and big ideas into his 1983 play "The Gigli Concert," so much so that it can be dizzying. But in director Tom Prewitt's staging at Woolly Mammoth, the actors break down the dense prose through even pacing and clear, spirited performances that shows they've internalized Murphy's grand intentions. It's not surprising, really: The same cast and director helmed the Woolly's acclaimed 1996 production.

Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz steps out from behind the Woolly Mammoth's scenes to reclaim his role as "dynamotologist" J.P.W. King, an alcoholic English shlub who runs a failing therapy practice in Dublin, Ireland. The high-strung King seems to begin each scene in his boxer shorts and T-shirt before racing to put on his rumpled shirt and pants whenever he hears a knock at the door. The person who's usually on the other side is a character known only as Irish Man, played by Mitchell Hebert. He's a mysterious but impeccably dressed rageaholic who hires King to help him solve his woeful life -- and to help him sing like the Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli. The only other actor seen on the evocatively designed stage is King's mistress, Mona, a fellow vodka-lover played by Kim Schraf, but it's the intense, talky interaction between King and Irish Man that drives the play -- two lost souls filled with existential dread and nary an idea about how to get over it. CHRISTOPHER PORTER

Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D St. NW; through May 7, $30-$48; 202-393-3939. (Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter or Gallery Place)

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