 "Photo: Joshua Doby for The Hilltop")
 "Photo: Joshua Doby for The Hilltop")
Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel is a play about five unmarried sisters who live in Ireland during 1936, a scenario not ripe for comedy, but the Mars Hill College production gave a fine rendition with notable moments.
The sisters covet Lughnasa, a Celtic festival. Director Paul Schiernhorn wanted to stress that their lives were bland and dancing united them. They just make ends meet; only three of the sisters bring money into the family home.
This is an intimate play and has an intimate setting. In the MHC performances, the audience was seated onstage on all four sides. The audience was so close to the actors, any emotions they displayed were detectable.
The set was simple but meaningful. It included a mini-sized wall, a kitchen table with chairs, the sisters’ beloved radio, a bench, and stove and counter -- essentials for the Mundy women. Nothing owned by the Mundy sisters was of high quality. The nice things they did own they kept nice.
Kate (Stephanie O’Rear), a strict teacher and a devout Catholic, who tries her best to hide her family from shame brought on by her brother, Father Jack (Seth Clark), and her youngest sister, Christina (Amy Thrift), who has a child out of wedlock.
Christina has only seen her son’s father, a charming, smooth-dancing man, seven or eight times since giving birth. Christina knows that she and the father, (Joshua Miller), will never be together because he cannot commit, despite his offer to marry her.
Father Jack has been away for 25 years in Africa, doing missionary work. The sisters think he is sent home because he has become native like the people of the village. In fact, he must think about every word he says because he hasn’t used English in years. When he talks, he pauses frequently to search for the right word then celebrates by throwing his hands up when he finds it.
At times, the pauses seemed a bit long. He celebrates the fact that one of his sisters has had a child out of wedlock, whom he calls a “Love Child.”
Jokester and second eldest sister Maggie (Jade Day Burdett) and Rose (Jennifer O’Rear) were constantly singing and gallivanting; they provided little bursts of humor in an otherwise somber play. A quiet Agnes (Joan Wilkerson) and simple-but-loveable Rose (J. O’Rear), who knits gloves, round out the sisterhood.
Kate (S. O’Rear) and Rose (J. O’Rear) deliver sorrowful monologues that would tug at anyone’s heart. And at times, Agnes’ sympathy could be felt; she spoke her mind when needed to.
The most uplifting and unforgettable part of this play was one of the dances. There was quite a bit of goofy, joke-like dancing, but nothing as serious as when the sisters danced together. Even strict Kate let the joy and uplifting music win her over. It was the best dance of the show. They just forgot about what was going on, smiling and dancing, and it was inspirational. To see the five Mundy sisters dance was a joy, and one could not help but smile and tap a foot along.
One of the most difficult tricks of the play to pull off was making young Michael invisible. There was an adult Michael (Joshua Stein) who narrated, and the audience hears about his childhood. Even though he remained onstage, the actors ignored him as if only an invisible child existed.
The Irish dialects were generally well done, with a few exceptions of American accents slipping in here and there.
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