Chrystal McConnell Emerald
Tony award-winning ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’ combines humor, family dynamics and Irish culture to create a warm and nostalgic mix. Above, Gerry (Andrew Beck) and Chris (Katie Rogers) discuss their future together.
Robinson Theatre produces “Dancing
at Luglmasa,” a warm and funny tale
of hope, Irish style
BY LISA GRILLING PHOTOS BY CHRSYTAL MCCONNELL
Get ready for Irish
step-dancing, Irish
tunes, a little of the
brogue and a de
tailed story involving a
poor Irish family from
Donegal, Ireland.
The Tony award-win
ning play “Dancing at
Lughnasa” by Irish play
wright Brian Friel will
open Jan. 26.
University professor
and director Joseph Gilg
said he identifies with the
play partly because of his
Irish heritage.
“This play was chosen
because of the reputation
of the playwright and the
complexity of the roles,”
Gilg said. “Because I have
some Irish background, I
have always had that con
nection to Irish plays and
music. Friel is a very fine
playwright. He romanti
cizes poverty in this par
ticular play. He shows the
characters’ will to live
and their positive out
looks for the future.”
“Dancing at Lughnasa”
depicts the five Mundy
sisters, their older brother
who has recently re
turned home from an
African mission and the
son of one of the sisters,
as well as her lover.
“It’s a memory play,”
Gilg said.
Although the family
has its differences, they
struggle to stay together
through arduous circum
stances. The main themes
are that “family works to
gether, romance [and]
whether people take the
chance and embrace it or
turn away from it. Also,
cultural clash,” Gilg said.
“This is a sweet story,
typical of Irish — a lot of
Irish humor and it reveals
nostalgic messages of
hope. People will be en
tertained.”
“Life can be pretty de
pressing sometimes, so
this play reveals a sense
of hope,” said University
student and actress Joce
lyn Fultz.
“Dancing at Lughnasa”
explores the role of
women in a changing so
ciety in the 1930’s.
Women’s roles are still
shifting, so this topic res
onates today. “It is uni
versal,” Gilg said.
“Part of the challenge
in directing ‘Dancing at
Lughnasa,’” Gilg said,
“was asking the company
to work with the Irish di
alect.”
Fultz, who plays wise
Agnes Mundy, agreed.
“The dialogue is tough,”
she said. “It’s hard to con
figure my mouth.”
The costumes worn in
“Dancing at Lughnasa”
convey a sense of poverty
. The ’30s-style costume
design includes sweaters
and cardigans — heavy
layers with dissimilar
shades of pink, brown
and green hues. This adds
a realistic aura.
“None of the patterns
really match,” Fultz said.
The Irish melodies in
“Dancing at Lughnasa”
play a powerful role. The
period big band and Irish
music will be used to
“underscore various
scenes and under-layer
the nostalgia,” Gilg said.
“It’s exciting.
“The setting is very in
teresting. The audience
will see inside the home
as well as the yard out
side at the same time,”
Gilg said.
“The most intriguing
part of ‘Dancing at Lugh
nasa,’” Fultz said, “is the
relationships among the
characters.”
Two years ago in
Dublin Ireland, Heather
Charlton who is a sopho
more at the University,
watched “Dancing at
Lughnasa.” “It was an in
teresting story, because it
portrayed naturalism. It
didn’t gloss anything
over,” said Charlton.
“Dancing at Lughnasa”
will be performed Jan.
27, Feb. 1-3 and Feb. 9
10 in Robinson Theatre
at 8 p.m. On Feb. 4 at 2
p.m., the show will be
performed as a benefit for
WomenSpace, a domes
tic violence service. Tick
ets for the show are $10
for the public, $8 for Uni
versity faculty, staff
members and senior citi
zens, and $5 for Univer
sity students. For the
Feb. 4 matinee, tickets
through WomenSpace
are $20 and $12 for stu
dents. For further infor
mation, browse
http://darkwing.uore
gon.edu/-theatre/.