What do you get when you mix religion and alcohol? In Conor McPherson's tragicomedy, "The Seafarer," you get four Irish drunks and a devil that makes house calls on religious holidays.
Directed by Wilson Milam, "The Seafarer" is a splendid evening of theater. Semi-good versus evil in McPherson's intelligent and slightly sentimental play about five men drawn together on Christmas Eve. McPherson's characters are not your average holiday revelers. They are flawed men. These eccentric losers are not the first Irish boozers to blather onstage, nor will they be the last. But "The Seafarer" may be the first to use a game of cards to determine the fate of a man's soul. Yes, some things are sacred--even to drunken Irishmen-like Christmas and poker.
Set in the working-class, Irish coastal town of Baldoyle, it's a cold day in hell--oops, December. In fact, it's the morning of Christmas Eve. And the home, if you could call it that, of two alcoholic brothers stirs to life.
Everywhere you look, their two-level dwelling is dirty, neglected and overrun with empty beer cans. To the far right of the mismatched leather furniture is one of the most pathetic Christmas trees ever seen. Occasionally, you'll glimpse pictures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary on the shelf in the front window. That is, when the light isn't shorting out, which is most of the time.
The older brother, Richard, is blind after falling into a dumpster on Halloween. So now his younger brother Sharky, who decides to quit drinking, must wait hand-and-foot on his cantankerous sibling sot. After another night of drunken capers, Richard has passed out amid the clutter. Ditto for the brothers' pal Ivan, a feckless fool who does whatever others tell him-with the exception of his wife.
When he comes to, Richard carries on and on about this and that. He may be a blind boozer but that doesn't stop him from raging at the winos in the lane behind his house. He's obsessed with getting rid of them, so between whiskeys, he leads the charge, brandishing his cane like a battering ram.
But today, Richard rants about Christmas and "Santie." He wants to buy lots of food and drink. When Sharky disagrees with the guest list, his wily brother resorts to his pity plea, "I have so little left to live for," he laments melodramatically.
So guess who's coming to dinner? The always-welcome Ivan, because his wife has thrown him out again. Against Sharky's wishes, Richard has also invited Sharky's former friend Nicky, now living with Sharky's ex, Eileen. Then Nicky shows up with his new best friend in tow, the unexpected and mysterious Mr. Lockhart. And the games begin.
Seán G. Griffin gives a tour de force performance as Richard. Griffin is brilliant, capturing every facet of Richard's character. He's irascible, irritating, indulgent, cunning, demanding, peevish and simultaneously gross and hilarious. As he falls, crawls and enthralls, Griffin's stellar performance numbers among the best this critic has seen in Seattle. Of course, McPherson endows Richard with some of play's finest and funniest dialogue, but it is Griffin that brings each line to life with his virtuoso talent.
Smooth-talking Frank Corrado plays the dapper Mr. Lockhart, aka the Devil, who looks like he just stepped out of the pages of "GQ," much like another Mephistopheles, the natty Ray Wise in the TV series "The Reaper." It seems Mr. Lockhart only gets out on religious holidays, so with understated wit, he confides that his next scheduled outing won't be until Good Friday. But it's Christmas, and he's come to collect an overdue debt--Sharky's soul, payment for a sin committed years ago. Beelzebub offers Sharky a deal. They will play a hand of cards for his soul, winner take all
McPherson adds a touch of poetry to the Devil's words, and Corrado delivers it with melodious malevolence. He almost evokes sympathy for the loquacious Lucifer, especially when he rhapsodizes about heaven and hell in an eloquent soliloquy.
With his receding hairline and thin, stringy hair, Russell Hodgkinson's insightful interpretation of Ivan resembles a tall Michael Jeter from the 1991 film, "The Fisher King," starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges. Ivan may seem like a bumbling dunce, but he's smarter than he looks. He also harbors a dark secret from his past.
Shawn Telford does an amiable turn as Sharky's rival, Nicky. While Sharky can't keep a job, Nicky has money to burn. He even sports a high-fashion "Versaky," as he calls it, jacket.
The weakest link in this drunken quintet is Sharky, a disappointing turn by Hans Altwies. He fails to connect completely with his character. The stories the others tell about Sharky's escapades don't jive with Altwies's onstage persona. Where is the man who's been banned from most of the local pubs? Ultimately, despite his best efforts, Altwies is too young and clean-cut for this role.
Director Milam carefully builds the action from the hangover hoopla in Act One to the poker challenge in Act Two. As for the Christmas spirit, "Ave Maria" has never sounded worse, thanks to Hodgkinson and Griffin's drunken duet.
A fallen-away Catholic and former alcoholic, McPherson toys with our perceptions of good and evil. When the play reaches its denouement, the flickering light on the window shelf suddenly beams brightly on Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Perhaps heralding this long night's journey into day.
"The Seafarer" runs Tuesday to Sunday through March 28 at Seattle Repertory Theatre, tickets $15-$59, 206-443-2222.
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