“BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE” A MUST SEE AT BACKYARD RENAISSANCE THEATRE COMPANY

Before the curtain even went up on opening night of Backyard Renaissance  Theatre downtown on 10 Ave, the theatre was dark, the ushers needed flashlights to help patrons find their seats and one could scarcely see the programs without said light. Or… a preview of what was to come? This was after all the opening night of Martin McDonagh’s “Beauty Queen of Leenane” a colorful, yet psychological dark comedy. 

McDonagh, not known for his subtlety, jumps right into a family drama that has been playing out even before we entered the picture. 

JESSICA JOHN AND DEBORAH GILMOUR SMYTH

Set in the County Galway village of Leenane, off the west coast of Ireland, mother and daughter Mag (Deborah Gilmour Smyth) and Maureen (Jessica John) live together as antagonists on a dangerous highway. They  duke it out in a war of words potent enough to knock a world champion boxer flat on her back. Mag manipulates; Maureen counters and falls into the trap only to impose her own form of cruelty. 

  

Deborah Gilmour Smyth and Nick Daugherty

Maureen is forty, unmarried and has no life (read no love life). Mag is a controlling hag and wants a pound of Maureen’s flesh. As the banter pierces the air, the audience is taken on a roller coaster ride through the pain, pathos, humor and horror of these women’s lives. No easy fete this, since if one had to choose who the good guy was, one would be hard pressed. But there is more.

Deborah Gilmour Smyth and Jessica John

Two neighboring brothers Pato and Ray (MJ Siebner and Nick Ritz Daugherty) bring a different vibe into the Folan house of horrors. Call Daugherty’s performance high voltage. Pato, a potential mate for Maureen is sensitive and caring. It is a disturbance for Mag as she sees the possibilities. While Ray who adds some comic relief, is the deliverer of news that sets most of the motion into play for Mag as she reacts in her own indomitable way and John softens her stance a bit, becomes sexier while Siebner gives a standout performance as he reads, aloud, a letter he wrote to Maureen about his intentions. In Pato’s  eyes Maureen is his beauty queen of Leenane. 

Jessica John, Deborah Gilmour Smyth and MJ Sieber

 The first time Gilmour Smyth and John teamed up was in 2023 also at BYR in “August: Osage Orange County” where they played mother and daughter. The dynamic duo is at it again but in a much darker and dangerous environment. Both women are at the top of their game as ‘if looks could kill, Mag has them all.’ Maureen’s head spins as she deliberately plots her next move. 

MJ Sieber

Director Francis Gercke is so precise in his every move as this production has excellence written all over it. Curtis Mueller’s lighting also reflects the mood, and Toni Cucuzzla’s set has a wood fire burning stove, fussy but workable kitchen and forever rain on the windows of the Irish cottage. (He is also the properties designer) Dialect coach Grace Delaney has the accents and Irish swag down to a tee (at least it sounded right to me) and Jessica John Gercke designed the period clothes and Logan  Kirkendall designed the sound (I’m supposing the static sounds on the radio in the background.)

Jessica John and...

With that careful and to every detail, director Francis Gercke and assistance by Hanna Meade “Beauty Queen” production, soars. It's the  perfect combination of McDonagh’s script and the bigger than life cast breathing life and advancing the well -conceived plot. This production has five stars written all over it.  It is a must see.

“Beauty Queen” made its San Diego premiere in 2021.   It is the first of three plays in the “Connemara Trilogy” by Martin McDonagh. Before making its way to Broadway, where it won 4 Tony Awards (1998), it was produced for The Druid Theatre Company in Galway, Ireland in 1996. 

Enjoy! 

See you at the theatre.

When: June 29 and runs through July 13. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays. (Also 7:30 p.m. July 2-3 and 7 p.m. July 8.) Through July 13.

Where: Tenth Avenue Arts Center, 930 Tenth Ave., San Diego

Tickets: $18-$40

Photo: Daren Scott

Phone: (760) 975-7189

Type: Dark Comedy

Online: backyardrenaissance.com