Review: A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE at The Bent

The Bent, the Coachella Valley’s LGBTQ+ theatre company, is presenting its first musical, A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, written by Terrence McNally (book), Stephen Flaherty (music), and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics). The writers and composer have put together a moving book, lyrics, and score that create a deeply affecting and emotional story, with just enough hilarity to soften the upsetting moments. The brilliant acting, singing, directing, and design make this show a must-see.

The story, based on a film from the 1990’s starring Albert Finney, is so complex that, after seeing the musical, I had to read Wikipedia’s synopsis to make sure I’d fully understood it. (I hadn’t). The story is a flashback, after the theatre group that the protagonist, Alfie Byrne, heads has been dissolved. I’ve also read an interpretation that the show can be viewed as a play within a play, with the passengers on Alfie’s bus a Greek chorus telling the story and giving him advice in his mind.

The story takes place in Dublin, in the mid-1960’s, in a working class neighborhood. Alfie, the title character, introduced by a song of the same name as the musical, is a middle-aged “man of no importance,” who is not going to change the world. The title, in my view, applies to all the characters except, perhaps, the priest — they are “merely” workaday people who live their lives trying to make enough money to eat and pay the rent. They revere the Catholic church and enjoy theatre, which is why they’ve joined St. Imelda Church’s acting troupe. One thing that went right by me until I started researching the musical is that Oscar Wilde wrote a play named A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE. Hence, the title of the musical is the first place of many that point to Alfie’s obsession with Wilde; he even has conversations with Wilde and imagines the writer’s responses.

The St. Imelda players put on Wilde’s THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST the previous year, and many want to try it again — this time to gain some accolades instead of the uniformly bad reviews the first production garnered. (This is, of course, another reference to the musical’s title, in that Oscar Wilde has referred to being earnest as important, both as a literal adjective and with a slightly altered spelling as a man’s name, “Ernest”.)

Alfie is hell-bent on performing Wilde’s SALOME, even though he knows SALOME is likely to be too risque for St. Imelda’s. He therefore tells people, truthfully, that the play is about John the Baptist, and doesn’t mention that it is primarily about the sexy Salome. At this point, the audience, despite the density of the book and lyrics, can begin to make the connection between the opening scene, when the theatre company is expelled, and Alfie’s decision to hide which play he is REALLY directing. But then, Alfie, as everyone tells him over and over, is used to shutting people out.

Alfie and his sister, Lily, live together because she believes her brother needs to be taken care of; despite his earning a living and being a terrific cook, she is sure that he is too much of an innocent dreamer to stand on his own feet. Lily has decided to forego marriage until Alfie finds the right woman and gets married, himself, although she’s starting to regret her decision now that she’s firmly in middle age, and now that Mr. Carney, the butcher next door, has asked her to marry him.

We eventually learn the reason for Alfie’s zigging while the rest of the world zags: He is gay. This revelation is hardly a spoiler to a modern audience at an LGBTQ+ theatre, when the book writer is the late Terrence McNally, an icon of the “queer” stage. However, for mainstream theatregoers who saw the show when it first ran at Lincoln Center in New York, in 2002, the revelation might have been a surprise.

One thing that the playwright and lyricist leave out, in effect demanding that the audience members reach their own conclusion, is whether Alfie has known all along about his sexual orientation or whether he discovers it in a conversation in a mirror with an imaginary Oscar Wilde, when he realizes he’s in love and the object of his affection is a man. ("Man in the Mirror"). The question of when Alfie becomes aware of his sexuality is one of the many complexities in the story. In fact, I found the tale to be so deep that, despite my significant research, I would not be surprised if I missed either a major point that McNally was trying to communicate or another connection to Alfie’s hero, Oscar Wilde — possibly both.

The Bent, which stages its productions in a small former movie theater at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, had to be creative to put on a musical. The director told me that, at one point, sixteen people are on the stage at once, including the three musicians who provide live music. Because of the crowding, the set designer (Steve Giboney) had to be highly imaginative. Tables came on and off and small folding chairs, arranged in different patterns, became seating in a church social hall and, when arrranged four across with a center aisle, the bus where Alfie served as conductor. The company even managed to dance on the tiny stage. (Choreography by Marcello Tulipano and Nathan Wilson; tap choreography by Miss Jane Guy).

The large cast is a who’s who of Coachella Valley community theatre and deserves kudos for the fine ensemble work. They exhibit great acting and singing and almost all managed to learn the difficult dialect; they were obviously taught well by dialect coach Howard Shangraw. Everyone on stage is great — there are no weak links — but it is only fair that I point out a few actors with key parts who help make the production shine. Jason Mannino, as Alfie, sings in a soothing tone and exudes warmth towards characters in need of sympathy, despite Alfie’s reputation as cold and remote. Linda Ceniceros Gonzalez, as Adele Rice, one of the main beneficiaries of Alfie’s kindness, has an incredible singing voice, as does Sonia Reavis, as Lily Byrne, and they’re both fabulous actors as well.

Not having seen the script or another production, I don’t know if the visual humor came from the book or from director Steve Rosenbaum (The Bent’s artistic director), but I thought it was hilarious. Look for the neck wrap made of sausages, the priest’s prodigious consumption of alcohol, and the costumes and props being put together in the number, “In a Week it will be Art.”

I very much appreciated the live music. At a time when even Broadway is moving towards electronic tracks in some productions, it is refreshing to see a keyboard (played by music director Robert Ollis), a violin (played by Lee Wolfe), and reed instruments (played by Linny Smith) providing live accompaniment.

Finally, except for a particular flaw, I thought the lighting was exceptionally well designed (by Nick Wass). During approximately the first half hour of the show, the stage was mostly dark, although punctuated by spotlights on those who were talking or singing. Then, the stage lit up, literally, when Alfie began interacting with other characters. In some scenes, multicolored lighting began blinking. If this was intentional, I felt it added nothing to the performances onstage, and was actually a significant distraction. However, it may have been a problem with the light board rather than the design, in which case I’m sure it will be fixed.

The rest of the cast, most of whose names will be familiar to Coachella Valley audiences consist of: Jeffrey Scott Adair (Oscar Wilde/William Carney the butcher) (Am I the only one groaning at a butcher named “Carney”?); LT Cousineau (Sully/Priest/New Driver); Kellen Green (Robbie Faye/Violinist); Heather Joy (Miss Crowe/Kitty Farrelly); Kelly McDaniel (Mrs. Curtin/Customer); Rebecca McWilliams (Mrs. Grace); Koby Queenen (Ernie/Breton Beret/Peter/Bodhran Player); Alex Thomas (Mrs. Patrick/Carson); Marcello Tulipano (Rasher/Police Officer/Guitarist); Nathan Wilson (Baldy). The rest of the creatives and crew consist of: Terry Ray (Managing Director); Kudra Wagner (Stage Manager/Production Manager/Prop Design); Nick Wass (Lighting Design and Sound Design & Engineer); Cherlyn Lanning (Costume Design); Steve Rosenbaum (Prop Design); Jason Reale (Graphic Design); Abigail Lamp (Sound Assistant); Sarah & Evan Allgood (Set Painting); Jason Mannino (Press/Publicity); Alan Carvalho (Videography); David Hart (Box Office); Joshua Friedman (Volunteer Coordinator).

A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE will run for two more weekends (through Sunday, May 24, 2026) on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and on Sundays at 2 p.m. Ticket prices are $42. Performances take place at the Palm Springs Cultural Center (formerly the Camelot Theaters), 2300 East Baristo Road, Palm Springs, CA 92262 (across Baristo Road from Palm Springs High School and next to the construction site). Contact the theatre by telephone at (442) 268-5474 or, for tickets, via the Web site at www.thebent.org .

During the rest of the season, The Bent will present:

Susie Mosher & John Boswell in CASHINO, a multimedia musical (May 28-29).

THE LINCOLN DEBATE, written by managing director Terry Ray. The play that launched The Bent, raising, although not answering, the question of whether Abraham Lincoln and his Best Friend, Joshua Speed, had a sexual relationship.

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