Review: Teresa Doggett is Bloody Brilliant in Albion Theatre's THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE

Robert Ashton may very well be the best director currently working in St. Louis. He is a masterful storyteller who continually wows audiences with every production he helms. He is a winner of a St. Louis Theatre Circle Award for his direction of THE LONESOME WEST and is currently nominated as Outstanding Director for last season’s imaginative WOMAN IN MIND (SEPTEMBER BEE). 

Whether working as director or in his role as Albion Theatre’s Artistic Director Ashton maintains exceptionally lofty standards. He chooses the finest British and Irish plays to stage in St. Louis. He insists on presenting the highest quality theatrical entertainment and Albion's extraordinary productions are a credit to his visionary leadership. 

Ashton’s ability to cast talented and capable actors with natural charisma is first-rate. His productions are always beyond well-rehearsed. His attention to detail is meticulous, right down to every syllable his actors speak with Western European accents. For the eighth time in a row, Ashton and Albion Theatre are staging another remarkable play.  

The 2025 season opens with Ashton directing a disturbingly droll production of Martin McDonagh’s THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE. McDonagh is an Olivier, Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe winning playwright and screenwriter with a flair for brutal dark comedies and dramas. He has been nominated for 5 Tony awards for his playwrighting, including a Best New Play nomination for THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE. 

Most recently McDonagh was Oscar nominated for his screenplays for the films “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” and “The Banshees of Inisherin.” His Best Live Action Short Film Oscar win was for his featurette “Six Shooter.”  

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE is a hardhanded black comedy about a 40-year-old spinster Maureen and her manipulative and conniving mother Mag. Maureen has spent her lifetime as caregiver for her spitefully selfish mother. She is afforded a last chance at love and Mag will do anything to derail Maureen’s relationship with her potential suitor. The two bitter women bicker and fight in a mother-daughter “War of The Roses.”  

Teresa Doggett (Mag) and Heather Matthews (Maureen) are outstanding as the wretched mother and resentful daughter. Doggett is positively heinous as Mag. Her abhorrent portrayal rivals the most deceitfully evil maternal characters in literature and film. She spews venomous wound-inflicting barbs and shoots onery facial expressions that malevolently capture all of Mag’s mean-spirited meddling. Doggett’s physicality in her acting equals her malignant delivery of McDonagh’s harshly sarcastic dialogue.  

Matthews exhibits Maureen’s disdain for her mother with a cold and calculated portrayal. She conveys the character’s maternal loathing stemming from decades of devious meddling. She has already reached the boiling point when the play opens. Her contempt and hatred for Mag is palpable. Matthew’s terrific portrayal rival’s Doggett’s excellence.  

Jason Meyers (Pato) is charmingly awkward as the knightly neighbor coming to rescue the trapped damsel. He and Matthews have immense chemistry. His drunken attempt to seduce Maureen following a party is both clumsy and sensual. Meyers monologue, penning a letter to Maureen, is warmly heartfelt in its shuffling verbosity. It is a wonderful portrayal of the kind and caring man.  

Austin Cochran (Ray) is hilarious as Pato’s put upon little brother. He delivers his brothers letters to Maureen knowing that dealing with the old hag Mag will not be pleasant. Cochran and Doggett have perfect cadence that yields brilliantly serrated comedic timing.  

McDonagh’s script is sharp, acerbic, and funny. He creates engrossing and amusing characters that are disdainful and spiteful. The script is highly entertaining, but the final scene feels unnecessary. Ending on the penultimate scene would have been a more satisfying ending to Mag and Maureen’s lifelong skirmish.  

Chuck Winning’s set design and Marjorie Williamson’s set painting create a dated and neglected cottage interior as backdrop for the near-invalid mother and her spinster daughter. Gwynneth Raush and Jeanne Whitmire's props add significantly to the narrative with vintage pieces that complement the age of the antagonist. Eric Wennlund, Ellie Schwetye, and Tracey Newcomb’s thoughtful lighting, sound, and costume design enhance Ashton’s telling of McDonagh’s story.  

Credit Ryan Lawson-Maeske for his striking fight and sensual intimacy coordination with the cast. His work added significantly to the story’s authenticity. The realism in the physicality between Mag and Maureen, and the carnality between Maureen and Pato, are all attributed to his skill as a kinetic choreographer and coach.  

As the Irish would say, THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE is simply grand. Ashton is a skillful storyteller. He and his assistant director C.J. Langdon have elicited stunning performances from Cochran, Doggett, Matthews, and Meyers. McDonagh’s script is dripping with mordant and grim humor. Put Albion’s fierce and menacing production of the darkly humorous THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE on your short list of plays to see this March.  

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE continues at the Kranzberg Black Box Theater through March 30, 2025. Click the link below to purchase tickets.  

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