Reviewed by Judy Richter
It's a blustery night as old pals
gather in a pub in a small Irish village in the mid-1990s. Only the unease of
the whistling wind foretells what's to happen that evening. Thus begins Conor
McPherson's
"The Weir,"
presented by San Jose Repertory Theatre.
The
first to arrive is the white-haired, bearded Jack (Robert Sicular), a regular patron who helps
himself to a drink and puts his money in the cash register. He's then joined by
the amiable young host, Brendan (Alex Moggridge), soon followed by shy Jim (Mark
Anderson Phillips).
The three men begin drinking and gossiping, with their focus on a local
landowner who has been seen driving a young Dublin woman who's going to live in
a house that's believed to be haunted. Soon the landowner, Finbar (Andy Murray), arrives with his client,
Valerie (Zillah Glory), to give her a chance to meet some of the locals.
Although
Finbar is married, the other three men are single, and one can sense their
longing reaction to the presence of an attractive woman. Then the stories
begin, with Jack, Jim and Finbar each narrating ghostly tales. Valerie tops
them with her own spine-chilling experience. Even later, after most of the
others have left, Jack tells Valerie his sad story of love lost.
Artistic
director Rick Lombardo not only directs, inserting some telling stage business, but also is
responsible for the sound design, which includes Irish music before and after
the intermissionless play. At times the pace seems slow, and the stories lose
some of their eerieness on the theater's large stage with its set by Annie
Smart, who also
designed the costumes. Perhaps Dawn Chiang's lighting could have set a more ghostly mood.
At
any rate, the acting ensemble is solid, making for a mostly entertaining
evening.
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