Berkshire on Stage

If you’re looking for a two-hour escape from the winter chill and/or the 24-hour news cycle, The Majestic offers a winning option. Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Katie Forgette’s comedy/memory play provides a pleasant diversion, and the Majestic’s production and performances turn Forgette’s charmer of a play into the sublime.

It’s 1973, with the sexual revolution, women’s lib, Roe v. Wade, and Nixon in China. The  O’Sheas, an Irish Catholic family, are just trying to survive. Linda O’Shea (Jenna Burns), the family’s 19 year old daughter, is having a turbulent day. Her mom (Sandra Blaney) has asked her to explain “the facts of life” to her younger sister Becky (Maggie Hamel) in the days before Facebook, social media, tweets and texts. The family patriarch Mike  (John Baker) and his sister-in-law (Cate Damon) fill the household along with his mother-in-law. The parish priest overhears that chat, and Katie Forgette’s Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help  unravels at The Majestic with occasional hilarity, plenty of warmth, and occasional drama.

Katie Forgette, an actor turned playwright, has written many plays which have been produced  at the Alley Theatre in Houston, North Coast Rep, Asolo Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Boston Stage Company, The Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Dorset Theatre and others. Cate Damon, a member of The Majestics extended theatre family (and who appears in this production) brought the script to the attention of the Majestic, after appearing in a different production. 

Rand Foerster, a Majestic veteran, directs a fine production, set on Matthew Whitton’s awesome family kitchen set. (Whitton designed Chester Theatre’s set for Will Sacrifice last summer–a high point of Chester’s season). Dawn McKay’s appropriately period costumes remind us that little fashion emerged from that period. Daniel David Rist’s lighting design works, and kudos to the uncredited sound designer, who had some challenging special effects, and who also provided some of the less memorable period music such as Paul Anka’s Having My Baby. 

The performances are spot on, from that of Jenna Burns as the narrator to John Baker in three distinctly different roles (patriarch, priest, and nosy neighbor). Sandra Blaney and Maggie Hamel are fine as mother and daughter, and veteran area actress Cate Damon, as sister and aunt in a crumbling marriage, is superb.

I’d certainly like to see some other plays by Katie Forgette staged in the area. Kudos to The Majestic for bringing her work to the area, and double kudos to the theatre company for giving it a first rate production. 

The Majestic Theater presents Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. by Katie Forgette. Directed by Rand Foerster. Scenic design by Matt Wilson., Costume design by Dawn McKay. Lighting design by Daniel David Rist.  Sandra Blaney (Jo O’Shea), Cate Damon (Terri Carmichael), Jenna Burns (Linda O’Shea), John Baker (Mike/Lovett/Betty), Maggie Hamel (Becky O’Shea), and understudies include Christine Voytko (Terri and Jo), Julia Solecki (Linda), and Mark Dean (Mike/Lovett/Betty). Through February 16. Majestic Theater. 131 Elm Street. West Springfield, MA. For details: https://www.majestictheater.com/

All photos by Kait Rankins. Photos submitted by The Majestic

Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and The Yale School of Drama. He has worked for arts organizations nationwide, and reported on the arts for print and broadcast. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat, On The Mark, and Survivor Stories  for WCPC15 and 89.5fm/WSKB. He’s a regular contributor to Berkshire Onstage and a member of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association.