‘Dancing’ does not deliver on all fronts

• By JOHN BOYD
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Apr 24, 2008 - Page: 1E - UPDATED: 12:40 a.m.

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“Dancing at Lughnasa” is a fire built without the proper kindling.

The new two-act drama from Baker Little Theatre too hastily drags its audience through a “character piece” that never fully takes the time to establish its characters.

Despite fine performances by the cast and a marvelous set, the play never fully ignites, mostly because it has nothing to burn.

Directed by Jack Wilson, “Dancing at Lughnasa” is the story of five sisters living together in 1930s Ireland.

The sisters, roughly ages 20 to mid-30, are all single and require a joint effort to keep their house, raise one sister’s young son, Michael (Brock Patrick Kaufman), and care for their sickly uncle, a former priest.

The sisters’ only real joy comes from dancing along to the family radio which, like their lives, always seems to be on the fritz.

Fitting with the strong Irish tradition of storytelling, the action of “Dancing at Lughnasa” takes place entirely in a flashback told by adult Michael (Jeff Vance).

Vance’s foreboding narratives are by far the most interesting parts of “Lughnasa,” and it’s only through these glimpses of what-will-be that the audience, in retrospect, finds anything which is worth caring about in the Mundy sisters.

The audience gets a sense of each sister’s separate identity, but nothing which helps it understand how those very different identities developed or how they help each sister cope with the harsh realities of their lives.

In the end, the audience feels sorry for the sisters, but can’t truly relate.

The blame is split between playwright Brian Friel, whose script is too often nondescript, and the actresses, who fight gamely but can’t draw enough from what little Friel gave them to work with.

Kelly Lee, for example, gets big laughs as dopey sister Rose. Turns out dopey Rose isn’t dopey at all: she is mentally challenged and in need of constant supervision. But Friel works too much in the subterranean and Lee can’t dig far enough down to find that which the writer is hinting.

“Dancing at Lughnasa” takes most of the first act to get going, before stringing together some tender moments and a few laughs.