Review: A TOUCH OF THE POET, Irish Rep NYC

Photo credit: Carol Rosegg

A Touch of the Poet by Eugene O’Neill brings to life a chaotic day dragged along by the self-tortured Con Melody at his family’s tavern in 1828 Massachusetts. The play, wonderfully directed by Ciaran O’Reilly, is full of raw performances, rich language, lost and tortured characters, and highlights the noxious fumes of pride and the male ego.

Robert Cuccioli plays Cornelius “Con” Melody, a hopeless social climber and tavern owner. The audience learns much about Con before he makes his entrance. As Con’s friends and employees stop by his tavern for an early morning whiskey, they gossip about Con, his military career, and his cruelty towards his wife. They suggest Con takes better care of his prized horse than he does his family. Nora Melody (Kate Forbes) and her daughter Sara (Belle Aykroyd) start their day cleaning up Con’s literal and figurative messes. The two seem to hold the tavern together; Sara takes care of the bookkeeping despite being a teenager.

Con’s anticipated entrance is one of the most memorable moments of the night, a stunning creation by actors and director. As he barely manages to make his way across the floor to his table still recovering from a night of heavy drinking, Con puts the audience on the edge of anxiety the same way he does his wife and daughter. Robert Cuccioli provides the hardest hitting performance of the night. His repeated breakdowns are predictably unpredictable, both stunning and frightening to witness. Through a hurricane of pride and shame, Con works himself up to unbridled fury only to apologise for his temper moments later. It is no surprise that Cuccioli previously played the title role in Jekyll & Hyde.

Kate Forbes’ Nora desperately holds it together as she attempts to serve her husband. Her exhaustion is palpable as she scrambles to keep Con from self-destruction. Forbes does a beautiful job of carrying the weight of Nora’s marriage while attempting to maintain hope and loyalty.

Con’s darkness is juxtaposed with his daughter’s blooming romance. Belle Aykroyd gives a dedicated performance to this marathon of stress and New England teenage angst, but her performance slightly lacks the wildfire of pride and passion that would give her the resemblance to her father the audience expects to see.

Mary McCann’s performance as Deborah Hartford is a brief but tasty splash of 19th century mean girl. She spins a web which ultimately leads to the implosion of Con’s ego.

All the actors bring passionate energy to carry the audience through this nearly three-hour play. It’s kind of like watching someone else’s family argument from across the restaurant. Charlie Corcoran’s set combines seamlessly with background noises of chickens, birds, and boisterous pub-goers to bring authenticity to this struggling family Tavern. Rich original music by Ryan Rumery ushers into the next scene, and lighting design by Michael Gottlieb provides an occasional closeup lens into Con’s fragile mental state.

This is a truly compelling portrait of a man lost in time scrambling to maintain social position. Unable to acknowledge the current state of his life, Con Melody leads himself and has family down a path of destruction. Ultimately, we see women picking up the pieces and holding it together, which is the true tragedy of this story, and the hardest part to witness. This gritty production, with all its power and execution, seems to do little more than provide an up close look at an evil we already know exists. Still, it is worth seeing for the performances if one can stomach two and a half hours of toxic masculinity.

For those seeking an epic rollercoaster of pride and desperation, A Touch of the Poet runs at The Irish Repertory Theatre through 17 April, with tickets available here.