Berkshire on Stage

by Dan Mayer

Just on the heels of St. Patrick’s Day, Schenectady Civic Players feature award-winning Irish playwright Conor McPherson with their latest production. The Seafarer is a dark comedy about a struggling alcoholic with a guilty conscience surrounded by heavy drinkers at Christmastime, but there may be more dark than comedy at the heart of this tale.

The Seafarer is kind of an odd play, focusing largely on the mundane drudgery of working class life in Ireland, while throwing in just a hint of the supernatural to raise the stakes on the poker game that the story culminates with. Richard (George Doherty) constantly bickers with Sharky (Marty O’Connor), Ivan (Christopher Wehrman) gets drunk and avoids the latest fight with his wife, and Nicky (Michael Meier) is too self-absorbed or too inebriated to notice the tension between him and Sharky, or between Sharky and Lockhart (David Quiñones, Jr.) for that matter.

The whole cast perform well with Irish accents, thanks no doubt to dialect coach Patrick Quinn. They also believably play varying levels of intoxication throughout, with the exception of O’Connor since Sharky is trying not to drink. O’Connor rises to the challenge of being the lone sober one in most scenes, and he effectively portrays Sharky as affable at times and pitiful at others. By contrast, Doherty is thoroughly obnoxious as he casually needles O’Connor throughout the night, somehow juggling multiple drinks with his eyes closed and never spilling a drop.

Wehrman may be the most likable among the main cast, and he manages both the comedic and dramatic beats for Ivan very well. Meier has relatively little time onstage, but makes a strong impression as supporting comic relief.

Quiñones has the biggest shoes to fill as Lockhart, and he definitely has the biggest presence in every scene he’s in. His voice booms across the theater with each line, yet his sly smile still draws the eye in quieter moments. When the true nature of his character is revealed to Sharky, Quiñones is an absolute firestorm.

The characters are written in a very naturalistic style, which combined with the authentic accents from the cast can be a little hard to follow at times. The events are set at Christmas, but that seems to mainly be an excuse for the characters to drink more to forget their troubles, and they have plenty of troubles. There are laughs to be had, but they are few and far between, particularly in the first act. The second act is more engaging all around, but still takes a while for the plot to move forward.

There are some lingering questions left after the ending. Some things are left up to the audience to conclude for themselves, like what really happened with Ivan and the fire that one night, what exactly was in that note that Sharky keeps hidden, and perhaps who the titular seafarer is. It could be Lockhart, based on his monologue about the cold sea in the second act. On the other hand, Sharky’s story would seem to share themes with the Old English poem The Seafarer, so perhaps it’s him.

While McPherson’s The Seafarer is a bit slow to get going, there is plenty to like about this production. If you’re curious how high the stakes of this particular card game get, ante up and see for yourself.

Schenectady Civic Players present The Seafarer by Conor McPherson, directed by Tony Pallone, runs from March 20 – 29, at Schenectady Civic Playhouse, 12 South Church Street in Schenectady, NY. Cast: Marty O’Connor as Sharky, George Doherty as Richard, Christopher Wehrman as Ivan, Michael Meier as Nicky, and David Quiñones, Jr. as Lockhart.

Assistant Director: Abigail Rose Decker. Producer: Jennifer Van Iderstyne. Stage Manager: Betsy Wilcox. Set Design: Peter Kantor. Lighting Design: Laura Darling. Set Construction: Peter Kantor, Abigail Rose Decker, George Doherty, Erin Harwood, Michael McDermott, Michael Meier, Marty O’Connor, Tony Pallone, and Kara Lindsay Schoen. Sound Design: Shaya Reyes. Costumes and Makeup: Kim Martin. Dialect Coach: Patrick Quinn. Board Operator: Abigail Rose Decker. Property Master: Kara Lindsay Schoen. Fight Choreography: Kim Martin.

Performance dates are Wednesday through Sunday, March 20 – 29. Wednesday and Thursday curtains are at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday curtains are at 8:00pm, and Sundays are matinees only at 2:30pm. Tickets are $25. Runs approximately two hours with a 15-minute intermission. Tickets are available online. Visit https://www.civicplayers.org/ for more information.