Windfall’s ‘Stones in His Pockets’ has too many holes
One month hence, shamrocks will abound while rivers — and rivers of beer — run green, as America spends a day being Irish.
But how much does all that St. Patrick’s Day hoopla — with its legion of drunken Plastic Paddies claiming Irish descent — tell us about who or what the Irish and Ireland really are?
Playwright Marie Jones tackles that issue head on in her perennially popular “Stones in His Pockets,” a hardhitting comedy with plenty of darkness that’s now on stage at Windfall Theatre under Maureen Kilmurry’s direction.
As things get underway, Hollywood has once again come to Ireland, making a film in picturesque County Kerry. Called “The Quiet Valley,” its plot suggests a passing resemblance to “The Quiet Man.”
Indeed, one of the many locals cast as extras is a septuagenarian who’d also been an extra on John Ford’s legendary film.
Two of those extras are Charlie (Robert W.C. Kennedy) and Jake (Joe Picchetti). In a play that has a great deal to say about the corporatization of Ireland, Charlie has been driven out of business by a chain store. Jake has recently returned to the old sod after failing to make it as an actor in New York.
When Kennedy and Picchetti aren’t establishing these two central characters, they’re busy playing 13 others, signaling transitions with glasses, a hat or a scarf (on opening night, both men occasionally forgot to don the appropriate accessory when switching).
Kennedy’s additional roles include a bodyguard, two directors, two more locals, a Christian brother and Caroline, the preening American film star who’d give anything to look and sound more Irish — including sleeping with the natives.
Picchetti’s additional roles include spins as a female assistant director, Caroline’s dialect coach, a television journalist, a rigger on the film crew, a troubled youth and the aforementioned “Quiet Man” extra.
Playing so many characters necessarily includes the risk of playing to type. Jones’ satire is often broad; these two actors go even broader, frequently scoring easy laughs at the cost of deeper meaning. They vamp particularly hard in playing the women.
All these over-the-top gymnastics also make it harder for the guys to establish their central characters.
And I couldn’t help thinking they were miscast. It’s much easier to imagine Kennedy as the cynical Jake; Picchetti, who struggles early to project such world-weariness, would seem to be a better fit as the ostensibly optimistic Charlie.
All of which is to underscore that “Stones” is a challenging piece to get right, technically and tonally; that may be why we haven’t seen a major production here since the memorable Next Act production in 2004. This “Stones” drags, weighed down by the burdens these actors must carry.
“Stones in His Pockets” continues through Feb. 24 at Village Church Arts, 130 E. Juneau St. For tickets, visit windfalltheatre.com. Read more about this production at TapMilwaukee.com.