Through June 26
THE ONION GAME Andrews Theatre/Irish Classical Theatre Company
They all deserve each other
Bryan Delaney’s “The Onion Game” spins around an onion farm near Dublin, run by Onion (Stan Klimecko) and his wife Pearl (Kelly Meg Brennan), with labor from Jacques (Ray Boucher).
The scams which everyone seems to have going are somewhat clouded by Irish accents out of the West, an area so far from Dublin that in the old days it was said the next parish was in Boston.
You can figure it out although it’s not easy.
Onion is told by Pearl that a publisher wants the book the onion farmer is writing and there is an acute deadline, diverting him from his farm, convinced the book will pay better for less physical labor.
Meanwhile son Ogie (Johnny Barden) claims to have a serious case of leukemia and is confined to his medical bed.
Teen daughter Milly (Bennett Goldberg) feels neglected, no matter how hard she pushes for some attention, especially from her father.
Some of what’s going on becomes clear early on, while the big reveal only surfaces at the very end.
Onion neglects the farm.
Barden’s Ogie’s martial arts exercises makes it clear he’s in fine shape, as he looks for a rug to chew on in a role director Greg Natale allows to get a little out of control.
Delaney weaves and wanders through his plot, leaving a series of questions about what is going on, while what is supposed to be Irish comedy continues down the main road.
He creates a sense that you know where this is all going and you will be (mostly) right because there are those twists.
As I said, they deserve each other.
Natale has strong performances from Klimecko and Brennan on another fine David King set.
Delaney’s characters are like those people you run across and have that temptation to run to the men’s room and wash your hands.
“The Onion Game” is worth seeing and listening to very carefully.
A.W.
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