March 4, 2009

The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Download image.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB Theatre presents Martin McDonagh's "The Beauty Queen of Leenane," directed by Jack Cannon, at 7:30 p.m. March 21 and March 24-28 and at 2 p.m. March 29, in the Alys Stephens Center's Odess Theatre, 1200 10th Ave. S. Tickets are $12; UAB and BACHE students $6; UAB employees/senior citizens $10. Call 205-975-2787. Visit UAB Theatre online at http://www.uab.edu/cas/theatre/.

In a small house on a big hill in County Galway, Ireland, the Folan women live out an uneasy truce. "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" tells the darkly comic tale of middle-aged Maureen and her elderly but iron-willed mother, Mag, as they spend their days in endless rounds of petty insults and physical threats, each maneuvering for control of their isolated existence. When an old family friend reappears and offers Maureen a chance at love and a new life, this once-benign terrain grows treacherous and the two women, bound by blood but driven by desperation, will do anything to survive. A blend of black comedy, melodrama, horror and bleak tragedy, the play takes place in a shabby kitchen, resulting in a claustrophobic sense of entrapment.    

"This is one of the most interesting plays I've worked on as a director in a long time," Cannon said. "The plot is so full of twists, turns and deceptions that you have to keep reminding yourself and the actors that the moment you are working on in the present will mean something totally different in coming scenes. It's fun to be able to lie to the audience about what's going on, only to see the shock on their faces when the truth is revealed."

The cast is Sarah Hereford of Huntsville as Maureen, Jessica Walston of Hoover as Mag, Brett Blaylock of Birmingham as Ray and Chuckie Fuoco of Homewood as Pato. Costume design by Sarah Brandt of Homewood, set design by Jordan Bohl of Athens and stage management by Caitlin Suggs of Irondale, with assistance from Olivia Standridge of Irondale and Brittney Williams of Birmingham.