BWW Reviews: Adorably Bittersweet OUTSIDE MULLINGAR at Seattle Rep

John Patrick Shanley may be best known for his incredibly thought provoking play "Doubt" but there's an almost romantic comedy side to his writing as well. I say "almost" as I would never want to put his quirky, flawed characters looking for love (like the ones in his Oscar winning screenplay "Moonstruck") in the same boat as standard romantic comedy. And that off kilter romance has found its way onto the Seattle Rep stage with his latest piece "Outside Mullingar", showing that his adorably bittersweet style is alive and well.

The setup is fairly simple as Irish farmers Tony Reilly and his son Anthony (Sean G. Griffin and M.J. Sieber) live next door to farmers Oeife Muldoon and her daughter Rosemary (Kimberly King and Emily Chisholm). Relations between the two farms are friendly if not a bit strained at times due to a land disagreement and an incident between the kids when they were young. But when Tony and Oeife pass away leaving their children to tend the farms on their own, what appears to be animosity between the two turns out to be shy and awkward love for the other that the two are too closed off to realize and/or communicate. And thus begins a three year courtship (almost) for these two that results in one of the most tragically hilarious confessions of love I've seen.

Shanley always manages to create such rich and vibrant characters and infuse them with engaging dialog that is so honest and simple that you get tons of exposition and story advancement without even knowing it happened. It's just so effortless yet moving. And with director Wilson Milam at the helm the piece flows beautifully with some incredibly sweet and touching moments amidst the hilarity of the denied romance.

Griffin and King setup the dilemma between their two kids beautifully and Griffin's final moments are heart wrenching. But it's Sieber and Chisholm who take on the lion's share of the play and neither of them ever waiver on their driving of the piece through its twists and turns to its slightly bizarre romantic end. Sieber's frustrated and lonely take on the oblivious Anthony makes him all the more likeable. Chisholm's walks that fine line between independent eccentric and crazy loner beautifully making her incredibly engaging and sympathetic even as she does some not so sympathetic things. And the chemistry between the two is superb.

The quirky nature of this strange love story is so compelling that you cannot help but fall in love with it. And this is why I give it a contented (if not a little disturbed) YAY with my three letter rating system. It just goes to show there are all kinds of love. And if these two can find each other then there's hope for the rest of us.

"Outside Mullingar" performs at the Seattle Rep through May 17th. For tickets or information contact the Seattle Rep box office at 206-443-2222 or visit them online at www.seattlerep.org.

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