Jim O'Brien News

Dark humor can be a challenge at times, but when it works, it can be so completely satisfying that it sticks in your mind long after the show is over.  A SKULL IN CONNEMARA is one of those shows, and not only is author Martin McDonagh's writing is a delightful exploration of the twisted and macabre, but the outstanding performances of Jim O'Brien, Jonathan Fisher, Wendy Overly and Steve Kidd deliver McDonagh's words to the audience and leave them laughing until it hurts.  This is a play that's strange and sinister, but so thoroughly hilarious that it's hard to describe, and director Judith Swift captured the spirit of it perfectly.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre(The Gamm) presents Martin McDonagh's dark comedy A Skull in Connemara.The production marks The Gamm's final staging of the Anglo-Irish playwright's celebrated Leenane Trilogy of plays set in a mundane village in Ireland's County Galway. The Olivier and Academy Award winner, who first exhilarated audiences with his satires in the 1990s, is currently earning accolades for his new play Hangmen premiering in London's West End.

At times, it can be hard to imagine that there was ever a period in history when society was as celebrity-obsessed as we are right now. With the internet, social media, Twitter, 24-hour cable news and everything else, information about the rich and famous is everywhere, all the time. It seems impossible to avoid and seems that the public's appetite for it is insatiable. On the other hand, David Adjmi's play Marie Antoinette, now playing at the Gamm Theatre, casts the famous French queen in much the same kind of world. And while the uneven play doesn't offer much that's new or original, it does provide another lens through which we can view and examine our own society and it's problems.

An audience member sitting by me at the Gamm's performance of Morality Play mentioned that one of the reasons she loves the company is their penchant for putting on plays that are daring, challenging and different. They do not just do the same old thing, she said, and she's absolutely correct. It is one of the characteristics of the Gamm that make it stand out among the theatrical crowd, that they take on plays that are more unique or risky than other companies might dare to produce. Morality Play is, arguably, a bit of a risk. While successful at being something unique, it is not as successful at being an entertaining, compelling or enjoyable piece of theater. Based on a novel of the same name, by Barry Unsworth, Morality Play is adapted for the stage by the Gamm's Tony Estrella. The story revolves around a roving troupe of actors, traveling the harsh English countryside in the winter of 1361. This gang of thespians are among the earliest practitioners of theater, actors who performed morality plays, one of the three major types of drama in the Middle Ages (the other two being miracle plays and mystery plays). In morality plays, a figure representing the common man, often called something like Everyman, is tempted by the personification of qualities such as Vice, Avarice or Lust, but is then saved by the appearance of, for example, Truth, Faith or Conscience. In the case of this play, our actors have just suffered the death of one of their company. Almost immediately, they meet a runaway priest who they allow to join them as a player, to take on the roles of the dead actor. Shortly thereafter, the troupe, very short on funds, arrives at a town where they will perform one of their morality plays. After that play fizzles, they decide to perform a new kind of play, one based on an actual real-life event, a true crime that has just occurred, the murder of a young boy. While doing so, they begin to solve the crime and put their own lives in jeopardy. If that sounds like an interesting idea, actors solving a crime using their powers of performance, it truly is. Unfortunately, this play is more of a collection of interesting ideas and concepts than an engaging piece of theater. Much of the play's early going feels like the Theater History 101 class that every theater major takes in college. It's as if the professor said, “Come up with a morality play and put it on for the class, just how the actors of the time would have.” And I'm willing to give Estrella and director Tyler Dobrowsky the benefit of the doubt that they have accurately recreated the feeling of the times and created an accurate and true recreation of the drama of the Middle Ages. Still, most of it is fascinating but boring and uninspired, not likely to excite many audience members, other than those who took that class in college. After getting through all of the “this is what theater was like in the 1300's” stuff (and it takes a long time), we finally reach the play's central story, the true-crime murder mystery. Unfortunately, this part of the play just demonstrates how many times we've seen all of this before. It quickly becomes an episode of C.S.I.: Broadway, with actors, instead of scientists, running around investigating and solving the crime. And in the third act, there are enough twists and turns to fill a season's worth of Law & Order episodes, with everything from corrupt heads of state to pedophiles and mysterious diseases. Yes, I realize that part of the point is that things that happened way back then are still relevant today, but in this case, they just make for a dull, predictable mystery, rather than an exciting and compelling story. One reason why it's not compelling is that we never really get to know any of these characters, not well enough to really connect with or care about them. The runaway priest, Nicholas Barber, is given a bit of backstory here and there, but not enough (he also may suffer from the fact that he is no longer the central character and narrator of the story, as he is in the novel). The “master player,” Martin Bell, also has some hints thrown his way about a possible checkered past, but not enough is provided to really make us feel for him. The other players are almost nameless and mostly interchangeable. Most of the rest of the characters, the King's Justice, for example, are just stereotypes, given no depth whatsoever, as they are only there to further the plot. Not helping is the actors milling about before the show, interacting with the audience as themselves, not in character, as far as I can tell. It adds to the feeling that we are watching Providence actors giving us a demonstration of early drama, not watching real, developed and believable people who lived at that time. Having said that, the Gamm has assembled an all-star team of some of the area's best acting talent. The dashing and charismatic Jesse Hinson makes his Gamm debut as the priest, Nicholas Barber. Hinson is masterful in the role and provides a number of the play's highlights, from his scene with the accused woman's father to another scene with the acting troupe's “whore,” who is about to get out before it's too late. Hinson makes every moment count and is impossible to not watch when he's in a scene. On the other end of the “who is the protagonist?” tug-of-war is Martin Bell, played by Tony Estrella. Bell is the leader of the troupe of actors, their motivator and moral compass, or at least he tries to be. Estrella, as usual, plays all of the nuances with skill and dexterity. At times, he is the seeker of truth and justice, and at other seems like a bit of a snake-oil salesman. It's a balancing act that he's able to pull off better than most. Our travelling troupe of performers are played by an excellent ensemble, all giving fine performances, even if they aren't ever given the chance or reason to dig very deep emotionally. Steve Kidd is a standout as Stephen, as is Elliot Peters as Springer. Jed Hancock Brainerd is also wonderful, though given a bit less to do. All three shine especially bright during the scenes when the troupe puts on their plays, from the biblical story of Adam to the true-crime tale of murder. All of the movement and physical action in those scenes is especially interesting and partly due, I assume, to Normand Beauregard, who plays one of the actors, Tobias, but is also one of the area's best fight choreographers. In what seems at times like a cast of thousands, a number of other actors appear and vanish. The wonderful Jeanine Kane, as the Innkeeper and wearing a hat she stole from Pharrell Williams, is mostly wasted. Jim O'Brien also gets little to do but does give a brilliant turn in one scene as the weaver, the father of the accused woman. And that woman herself, who is deaf and mute, is played by Clara Weishahn, providing one of the show's best performances. Her scene with Estrella, where they communicate without words, is beautiful and mesmerizing. It's unfortunate that the rest of play could not be as spellbinding or entertaining as that one scene. Instead, it relies of far too much speechifying and talking a lot about big ideas. Much of it is also heavy handed, as if they really want to make sure the audience gets the message, loud and clear. There are certainly some interesting themes and messages for the audience to ponder as they leave the theater, but the rest of the production may leave them cold and wanting more.

2014 was a powerhouse year for theater in the Ocean State. BroadwayWorld Rhode Island is pleased to feature some of the exceptional performers and artists who made this year a most memorable one on local stages.

The Gamm's production of HEDDA GABLER is sharp and smart, a beautifully-paced and thoroughly-absorbing theatrical experience.

Recently, Yankee Magazine, in their Editors' Choice Best of New England 2014 issue, awarded the title of "Best Intimate Theatre" to Rhode Island's own Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre. The Gamm's home in Pawtucket is intimate, there's no argument about that, a perfectly sized and perfectly utilized theatrical space. Proximity with the audience can at times be a risky bet, a chance for a company to live or die by the sword of theater that is very up close and personal. In the case of the Gamm, it is a bet they always win. Just one example is this season's final play, Blackbird, which again showcases how the space's intimacy can and does make great theater even more powerful and impactful.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre presents Blackbird by David Harrower and directed by Tony Estrella. It stars Madeleine Lambert and Jim O'Brien and runs from May 1 to June 1. Tickets are available here. Scottish playwright David Harrower's most acclaimed and most controversial play, Blackbird 'is theater at its most elemental,' says The New York Times. In a littered factory break room, 55-year-old Ray and 27-year-old Una engage in a confrontation so real and raw that you feel you should look away. But how can you? Fifteen years earlier, the two had a sexual affair...when she was 12. Ray has assumed a new identity and a new life following his imprisonment, while Una has not stopped searching for answers to her conflicting emotions. What emerges from the recriminations and explanations is a complex relationship that blurs the boundaries between love and lust, obsession and abuse. Uncompromising, shocking and surprisingly tender, Blackbirdwill leave you hanging on every word and every uncomfortable silence. For mature audiences only.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) closes Season 29 with the Rhode Island premiere of Blackbird, Scottish playwright David Harrower's shocking drama that captivates audiences and leaves them breathless. Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella directs Madeleine Lambert (Anne Boleyn in Anne Boleyn) and Gamm Resident Actor Jim O'Brien (Salter in A Number, Thomas Cromwell in Anne Boleyn) in the discomfiting story of a tormented young woman who confronts a traumatic relationship from her childhood. Blackbird runs from May 1-June 1 at The Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket, RI.

A double bill of provocative one-acts explores the perhaps not-so-distant future by way of science fiction and fable, keeping you firmly in its grip, in The Gamm's A NUMBER and FAR AWAY by Caryl Churchill. BroadwayWorld has photos from the productions below!

One of the many great aspects of Rhode Island's theater community is the presence of companies and artists who are willing to take some risks. They don't always play it safe. They don't just do shows that are easy or simple or uncomplicated. There are at least a few area theaters that frequently put on productios of complicated, difficult, disturbing or thought-provoking works. The Sandra Feinstein Gamm Theatre is one of those companies and they have begun their season with another complex and even puzzling production. This time, it's actually two plays, a double bill from English playwright Caryl Churchill, A Number and Far Away.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre(The Gamm) opens Season 29 with an exciting and provocative double bill of one-act plays by acclaimed British playwright Caryl Churchill (Top Girls, Cloud Nine). A Number, directed by Gamm Resident Director Judith Swift, and Far Away, directed by Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella, explore the perhaps not so distant future by way of science fiction and fable.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre(The Gamm) opens Season 29 with an exciting and provocative double bill of one-act plays by acclaimed British playwright Caryl Churchill (Top Girls, Cloud Nine). A Number, directed by Gamm Resident Director Judith Swift, and Far Away, directed by Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella, explore the perhaps not so distant future by way of science fiction and fable.

ESPN will offer more than 120 hours of TV and radio programming throughout Super Bowl XLVII week from the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, beginning today, Jan. 28.

ESPN will offer more than 120 hours of TV and radio programming throughout Super Bowl XLVII week from the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, beginning Monday, Jan. 28.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) opens Season 28 with the Rhode Island premiere of After the Revolution by rising American playwright Amy Herzog (4,000 Miles, Belleville). Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella directs Herzog's engrossing contemporary drama about a loving clan of leftist 'idealists'. At the center is the story of Emma Joseph (Diana Buirski) and her father, Ben (Jim O'Brien), whose close bond, built on shared politics, is shattered by a family revelation.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) opens Season 28 with the Rhode Island premiere of After the Revolution by rising American playwright Amy Herzog (4,000 Miles, Belleville). Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella directs Herzog's engrossing contemporary drama about a loving clan of leftist 'idealists'. At the center is the story of Emma Joseph (Diana Buirski) and her father, Ben (Jim O'Brien), whose close bond, built on shared politics, is shattered by a family revelation.

Annie Baker's Obie-award winning play, directed by Rachel Walshe, runs at The Gamm through October 9, 2011