If you have ever known anyone that is honest to a fault and holds nothing back no matter what situation, well, meet the play version.
Gamm Theatre's newest offering in IRONBOUND, directed by Rachel Walshe and penned by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Martyna Majok is a 90-minute tour-de-force through an immigrant's 22 years of life as she searches for love, happiness and peace and never comes close.
Donnla Hughes is spectacular as polish immigrant Darja, a stunningly difficult role to pull off considering she not only masters the Polish accent but also does so through a multitude of emotional breakdowns as she haggles with current and past loves and people coming in and out of her life. All of the 90-minute play takes place at a rundown bus stop in Newark, New Jersey, flashing back from a past relationship that led to having a son to her current relationship, neither of which are healthy ones. Darja's current boyfriend Tommy is played by Steve Kidd, whose accent could have matched some of the Sopranos dialect. The relationship between him and Darja is as complicated as they come with infidelity abounding and love a missing link but somehow they always come back each other. "Fourteen times isn't a mistake, it's a career," Darja said to her philandering boyfriend who just admits he's lonely. "We're bound to f*ck up, you're Catholic, you know," countered Tommy.
Gunnar Manchester plays an amazing Maks, Darja's former Polish boyfriend and father to her son, one of the few relationships in the play that you almost want to get behind, but that's a big almost. Rodney Witherspoon II rounds out the four-person cast as caring and loving Vic, a teenager Darja encounters on her journey who simply wants to help her, something she struggles with like most other things she encounters in her life. Darja's 22-year-old son Alex, who we never meet, but whom Darja talks to and of, is your typical kid leaving their parent behind to go their own way and while ignored at every turn-God this sounds familiar-Darja works so hard to help Alex as much as she can despite his avoidance of her in general.
There's no sugarcoating here, same as the play. It gets into the darkness behind relationships (even the ones you do not see like the abusive one she had with her boss at the plant), working deeply on what makes people happy or at least content and how far they are from reaching that goal. Darja is constantly searching but never finding what she wants out of life. She may not even know exactly what it is or where to find it. The audience finds itself spellbound by the performances but also wondering whether Darja is indeed her own worst enemy. You will not find yourself pulling for a character or a couple but instead asking yourself more questions than getting any answers. To say IRONBOUND is heartbreaking doesn't really do it justice. It is more than that but you will have to see that for yourself. This IRONBOUND journey will take you through places you may never have been to before and that is what makes it special. You can laugh somewhere else tonight because laughs disappear quickly but plays like this stay with you long after the lights go back on.
Patrons must show proof of full vaccination including booster or show proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Masks must be worn in the theatre at all times despite vaccination status.
IRONBOUND runs through April 10th. For tickets go to WWW.GAMMTHEATRE.ORG
Photo by Cat Laine/Painted Foot
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