OUTSIDE MULLINGAR

Before I review this play at the Sierra Madre Playhouse, I must first laud and thank the venue’s lovely personnel, who were champions in my book the afternoon I was there. It was 108 degrees out, and the theatre’s air-conditioning had broken!!! (And, yes, I did think I was going to die.)

But those guys saved everyone’s day, doing yeoman’s work. (The same can be said for the actors who were all bundled up and working! If I had been in that cast, I would have called in sick that day, even if I didn’t have an understudy! No lie.)

Firstly, we were all offered complimentary cold beverages in the lobby. And after we took our seats, the trio of hard-workers somehow found a few fans, and got them set-up and working in the aisles. And finally, they kept coming around silently during the show, offering audience members several rounds of cups of ice water from trays! I cannot even tell you how appreciated that kind act was! I’ve never been to another theatre who care so much about the comfort of their audience.

Of course, because my heatstroke-prone self was in the audience, they had chosen that day for a special presentation before the show. But it was a very important one—SMP Board Chair David Gordon took the stage along with SMP Artistic and Executive Director Matt Cook to introduce Assemblyman John Harabedian who presented Sierra Madre Playhouse with a check for…two and a half million dollars! Wow. So now the air-conditioning will always work from here on out, (along with many other building improvements!) Yay. (By the way—I give John Harabedian extra credit, beyond the gift of those amazing funds, for standing on stage for the presentation, in a suit, no less, despite his face turning downright purple from the heat. My friend Gigi and I were worried that his head was going to explode at any minute! But he proceeded with it all, cool as a cuke, even with a tiny well-behaved son in tow.)

Now to the review of the show. I’ve been a big fan of this half-century-old theatre for well over a decade. And for most of that time, they put on plays and musicals that ran for at least a month each. I loved that. They all felt like summer stock to me. But then in the past couple of years, they’ve featured mostly one-or-two-day presentations, such as music or dance or even film, which I’m sure the community loves for the variety—that means that there’s something to do in that quaint little town just about every day or night. (And tickets are very affordable.) But I’m personally happy to see them presenting a month-long play again so I have time to tell you about it.

However, I have to admit that this show is not my cup of tea. (But at least it’s only ninety minutes long.) Perhaps my opinion has something to do with how miserably hot I was in there, but Outside Mullingar reminded me that I’m not a fan of the work of the playwright, John Patrick Shanley, especially his movie Moonstruck, which I hate. And I don’t remember liking his Doubt, either. And that non-fanhood held up here, as well. So that’s my main issue with this play.

Also, I’ve read that Outside Mullingar is billed as a romantic comedy, but there is barely a laugh in the entire scenario, and the romance comes in the last few minutes! I found it to all be sort-of strange. And tedious. (Although there is one really good line that did elicit a big laugh from me. About the Bible, the younger woman says, “I hate it; it should be called The Book of Awful Stories!”)

That all being said, none of it is the fault of this production, which is actually pretty good. My problem is entirely with the writing. And it’s a semi-known, oft-produced play so I expected better.

On the positive side, the set by Mark Mendelson is absolutely excellent! Even though the stage is not big, the designer was able to demonstrate several different fully-realized locations, which I greatly admired. The moveable set adds sooo much to the production.

And three of the four actors are very good, especially Michael Kirby as the guy. Liza Seneca as his neighbor/potential love interest comes close to matching him. And she looks very similar to Kitty Swink who plays her mother, so that’s good casting. But I could barely hear Kitty, so I didn’t understand most of what she was saying. But, from the little I could make out from her, I don’t think her role, which is in only the first scene, furthers the narrative a ton, so that lack of loud-enough dialogue doesn’t much matter. (More on the father role in a minute.)

Outside Mullingar takes place over five years, (2008-2013, but you can’t tell that passage of time from anything in the play,) in Ireland, (I know not why because Shanley is American and a New Yorker,) and I’m not really sure what it’s about. A father, (who isn’t even sick at the beginning, so I don’t get why this main topic is an issue,) doesn’t want to leave his farm to his forty-something only son, which I also don’t get, outside of the fact that not all parents are nice. The also-forty-something woman next door is in love with that son, and apparently has been since he pushed her down when they were kids. (I guess domestic violence in the young is some sort of attraction, which is crazy to feature in a modern tale, but oh well.) And when all their parents are deceased in another year or two, and the woman finally tells the guy she loves him, he blurts out something so stupid about himself that, for the first time ever, I’m going to reveal a supposed surprise near the end of the show. Ready? He tells her that he’s…a honey bee! Whaaat??? That’s the big surprise? You’ve got to be kidding me! It would make more sense if he were a secret Furry!!! Either way, she still loves him. (I guess there was slim pickings of age-appropriate men on sheep farms in early twenty-first century Ireland!)

But as the title of this e-zine states, It’s Not About Me, so I’m sharing more of the positive opinions of Outside Mullingar from a few others, as well.

First of all, Gigi enjoyed the play, telling me that she found the story to be “very touching” and “very human.” And then we bumped into a couple of ladies from the audience afterwards, and they were singing the praises of the show. I felt that one woman even gave me the evil eye for saying I didn’t like it! (Or maybe she was just staring at my crazy looks because I had been throwing water on myself, especially my hair and face, during the presentation, so I’m sure I looked very odd by the end.)

The other woman told me she felt that the script is “beautifully written” with “good character development.” She added that she admired the female’s perseverance to finally get her man. (So I let her in on that Mr. X refers to me as “the stalker who won,” which means that I know a bit about that perseverance myself! She looked at me like I was insane! I’m sure those two had a nice discussion about me on the way home, wondering how Gigi chose to be my friend! She may be wondering that herself right about now.)

And here’s one more good opinion that strangely came up the following day. I was on the phone with a super-working creative musician, telling him about my experience at Outside Mullingar. (I was actually busting myself for calling out from the audience to stop the dignitaries on stage before the show from continuing to talk to the audience and to get on with the play already, due to the extreme heat in there. So, if you were one of the audience members whose life I may have saved that day, you’re welcome!) And this very cultured guy told me that he had seen the play elsewhere around town a few years ago, with an excellent actor as the father. And from the description, we realized he was referring to Armin Shimerman, the same man I saw here! So that’s another positive review, coming in a roundabout way. I love that!

One last thing about the Sierra Madre Playhouse—this was the first time that I sat in the last row there. I was on the right side facing the stage, and…it was very comfortable back there! Excellent sightline, and it actually made it easier to take in the entire tableau. So any seat you choose in that adorable theatre will be a good one. And it will be cool from here on out, so go enjoy. And don’t forget to explore that adorable town before or after—you will love it!

Outside Mullingar runs through October 25, 2026
Sierra Madre Playhouse  87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Sierra Madre
626-355-4318 www.sierramadreplayhouse.org