Review: THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE is the Hit of the Season at Big Idea Theatre

What can I say? Big Idea Theatre has some of the best picks in town. Constantly evolving and pushing through what feels comfortable and even sane, they’ve upped the ante with their latest offering. The Beauty Queen of Leenane is a deliciously dark and suspenseful tale by Martin McDonagh.

I went into this show blind, and I’m glad I did. It has so many twists and turns, like one of those amusement park haunted houses, that it’s impossible to guess what will pop up next. Central to the story are mother/daughter duo Mag (Christine Nicholson) and Maureen (Jillian Owens). The two women live together, with Maureen at Mag’s beck and call. She doesn’t take it lying down, though, and the two trade quips that would make a sailor blush. Maureen dreams of being liberated from her mother, telling her ”…if he clobbered you first and took of your head and spat in your neck…”, and we can’t fault her. It can’t be a coincidence that Mag rhymes with hag, for this character is over the top with her demands. Maureen dreams of leaving Leenane and when her neighbor, Pato (Jim Sink), shows an interest in her, she thinks that maybe her wish has been granted. Unfortunately, Pato has to rely on his oafish brother, Ray (Thomas Van Briggle), to relay messages, and Mag isn’t keen on letting her caretaker go. It was hard to not yell advice to these characters as the show progressed, for they seemed so real and I became so invested in their futures.

Making it even more terrifying, almost Misery-like, is the idyllic set design by Tony Parker. The quaint and tidy Irish cottage holds unspeakable secrets within its aged wooden beams, and the inhabitants have been lulled into a complacent cruelty by the rumbling of the train going by, taking its occupants –never them-- to foreign lands. The success of this show can also be attributed to perfect casting and sharp directing by Carissa Meagher. She leads the actors through this dark, Tony Award-winning script with a sure hand. Nicholson is the perfect Mag: condescending, demanding, and then vulnerable when needed. I didn’t quite feel sorry for her, but almost. Owens lives and breathes Maureen. She is, indeed, a beauty queen. She is austere with a suppressed playfulness, resigned yet hopeful, and possesses just the right streak of malice to make you shiver. The men are equally good. Sink’s Pato is sensitive and naïve, a true nice guy. Van Briggle is great as Ray. His cattiness and self-absorption are strangely endearing. McDonagh’s writing coupled with this incredible cast make this production a must-see of the season.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane plays at Big Idea Theatre through September 28th. Tickets may be found online at bigideatheatre.org or by calling the Box Office at (916) 960-3036.

Photo credit: Kaitlin Richards

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