Thursday, August 23, 2018

IndyFringe '18 The World Needs More Mrs. O'Boyle / Pope Walks Into a Bar

We caught the opening night of The Pope Walks Into a Bar, Father Ned! presented by Clerical Error Productions from Indianapolis, a play "lovingly inspired" by the Father Ned series:

On a remote - very remote - island in the Irish Sea, three misfit priests and their seemingly-innocent housekeeper do battle with the Bishop and each other as the Pope prepares to visit priests working in remote areas around the world. What could possibly go wrong? Featuring cast-composed music. 

Not having ever heard of or seen the television show, we were not sure how much of the play we would be able to follow. We needn't have worried--we were treated to some classic British, sorry, Irish humor of drunk, depraved, disturbed, didactic, and dogmatic characters and some one-liners that floated in the dialog so effortlessly that they often took a moment to process. I must confess, I am not familiar with Irish humor. The show had a distinct yet subtle barrage of jokes that I felt must be indicative of the genre. (I happened to look up Irish humor and found a website with some good examples.)

The capable cast included Jeff Kirkwood, Blake Mellencamp, Kate Duffy Sim, David Molloy, Jim Lucas, Kyrsten Lyster, and Nate Burner, all of whom shared abundant chemistry on stage and kept the show on pace.

A stand out character was Mrs. O'Boyle, the put upon proper maid, who, shall we evolves during the play? Here's one of those times when I hate to give a review of a show because I fear I will give away the best jokes, and really, these fine actors deserve the opportunity to do that. Allow me a bit of social commentary then. There is a scene when Mrs. O'Boyle comes out wearing a black apron, a lacy red bra, some racy tattoos, and high heels. The point of this scene was to push the boundaries of absurdity--very Irish indeed--as Mrs. O'Boyle is on the senior side, and all the priests could not hide their discomfort at seeing their matronly maid in such apparel. But I'm afraid the scene didn't work for me, and that is because Mrs. O'Boyle was smoking hot! Any any of those men would be lucky to even have a glimpse of her! Let's not put sex appeal in a box, people! We need more Mrs. O'Boyles in this world! 

I would also award this play with the Best Stage Strike Ever, which was part of the show itself. I don't want to say what they did because it's best to experience it yourself, not read about it. The audience was howling, and some rose to their feet to participate. Sending the audience out on a high note is a mark of a skilled writer and director.

I caught up with show creator and writer Kate Duffy Sim who also portrayed Mrs. O'Boyle. Kate considers it fate that she happened to work with two actors in previous plays who both loved the somewhat obscure Father Ned series, which went off the air some twenty years ago. "I saw my first episode of Father Ned on Christmas Eve in Dublin," Kate says. "I loved the quirky characters, and I love anything with Ireland. It's one of my favorite places." Kate wrote a script and then shared it with Jeff Kirkwood and David Molloy, who made suggestions. The three of them put a cast together, and as rehearsals went on, each character had a little input until they came up with the final product. "In Ireland, Father Ned is practically a cult. I just hope our show inspires people to go watch and enjoy the series," Kate explains. When asked how she developed her character in the play, she responded, "In the series, there is a proper maid who is written solely as a foil for the male characters, and she's always on edge. I wanted to see what would happen if I gave her a story of her own and pushed her over the edge." Mrs. O'Boyle is edgy all right! So is her carving knife!

Although this is Kate's first time in IndyFringe, she is a veteran of  DivaFest, a juried playwrighting festival sponsored by IndyFringe. She is also active in the local theater scene, having recently been featured in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Kate has lived her whole life in Indianapolis, and when she's not doing theater, she loves taking her grandchildren on adventures around the city, and painting, knitting, and writing poetry. Kate is passionate about theater but laments that there are very few roles for people over the age of fifty, and even moreso for women. "Our show has four actors over the age of sixty! I am proud of that and want people our age to come see for themselves.  If women or men for that matter feel there is nothing out there for them, I encourage them to write their own parts and their own scripts." I think that's great advice for theater and for life, too! Thanks for reminder and inspiration, Kate!

(Here's a link to some Father Ted videos should you want to check them out after seeing the play.)


Kate flashes her endearing, mischievous smile.


The Bishop refusing tea for the seventeenth time.


Jim Lucas and David Molloy spreading cheer on the Avenue.



Continues:
Saturday Aug 25th, 4:30PM
Sunday Aug 26th, 1:30PM

District Theater

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