The Playboy of the Western World – A New Version, now playing at Silver Spring Stage, is not just entertaining. It’s thoroughly funny.
Bisi Adigun and Roddy Doyle’s The Playboy of the Western World – A New Version, from 2007, is more than an adaptation of the 1907 original by J.M. Synge; it’s a character study and a warning against hero worship.
The plot sounds like a setup for a joke: What happens when you drop a Nigerian fugitive, wanted for murder, into a Dublin, Ireland, pub run by gangsters?
The performances in this show captivated me. Every scene was a study in the spectacular. The standouts were Justin Oratokhari, who played the fugitive, Christopher; Yael Schoenbaum, who played his love interest, Pegeen; and Katherine Leiden, who played Widow Quin.
Oratokhari and Schoenbaum were dynamite in their scenes, as their characters cycled from love to hate to indifference — and back. Schoenbaum made Pegeen a tour-de-force to be reckoned with as she squared up and took on the other men in life, including her stern father Michael (Bill Hurlbut) and her hapless fiancé Sean (Thomas Friend), who wanted Christopher to take a one-way-ticket to Belfast.
I was fascinated by Leiden’s performance of Widow Quin, who had her very own complicated backstory. Her scenes with Oratokhari sizzled.
Christopher was treated like a rockstar bad boy by the young ladies in town. Olivia Cholewczynski (Honor), Amanda Brenner (Susan), and Morgan Fuller (Sarah) played their roles with teenage silliness as they fawned over Christopher and took pictures of him with their 2007-era flip phones.
How many accolades can I give Kevin Sockwell, who played Christopher’s father, Malomo, except to say he was superb? There was quite an emotional range in his scenes with Oratokhari. Fight Choreographer Lena Winter brought tension to Malomo’s fight with his son.
Dialect Coach Gary Sullivan did a superb job getting the cast to sound authentically Irish. I appreciated the glossary in the program, which explained such Irish slang as “Grand” (Okay, all good), “Rasher” (thinly sliced bacon), and “Muppet” (an incompetent or dim-witted person).
This is the most captivating set I’ve seen in a long time. It had a dart board, bottles of whiskey and Guinness, and many other detailed props and set pieces. I loved the illusionary depth created by the stores across the “street” through the pub’s window. Credit Properties Designer Norma Andrews; Set Designer and Set Painter Maggie Modig; and Set Dresser McKenna Kelly.
Costume Designer Jennifer Morrissey excelled in the African garb she put Sockwell in. She made hoods Bri Caelleigh (Jimmy) and William Darden Jr. (Philly) look both slovenly and gangsterish. She put Fuller in a racy, pink jumpsuit.
Dramaturg Robert Summers-Berger and Nigerian Consultant Juliana Voss helped give playwrights Bisi Adigun and Roddy Doyle’s words depth and meaning. There is much subtext and history between the lines. (Did you know Nigeria is the second-largest consumer of Guinness beer, behind the United Kingdom?)
Director Seth Ghitelman pulled all these elements together and made the show an entertaining evening of theater. Ghitelman pointed out that the original play “was followed by riots in Dublin.” This version of the show, however, will elicit much laughter. Playboy of the Western World – A New Version is a show you’ll richly enjoy.
Running Time: Approximately two hours and 20 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.
The Playboy of the Western World — A New Version plays through February 9, 2025 (Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 pm) at Silver Spring Stage, 10145 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD. Purchase tickets ($22–$25, with discounts for seniors and students) at the door or online. For more information, call (301) 593-6036, visit the website, or email contact@ssstage.org.
COVID Safety: Masks are encouraged but not required.
The Playboy of the Western World — A New Version
By Bisi Adigun and Roddy Doyle
CAST
Christopher: Justin Oratokhari
Pegeen: Yael Schoenbaum
Malomo: Kevin Sockwell
Widow Quin: Katherine Leiden
Michael: Bill Hurlbut
Sean: Thomas Friend
Sarah: Morgan Fuller
Philly: William Darden Jr.
Honor: Olivia Cholewczynski
Jimmy: Bri Caelleigh
Susan: Amanda Brenner
ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Seth Ghitelman
Set Designer and Set Painter: Maggie Modig
Set Dresser: McKenna Kelly
Properties Designer: Norma Andrews
Dialect Coach—Irish: Gary Sullivan
Costume Designer: Jennifer Morrissey
Dramaturg: Robert Summers-Berger
Nigerian Consultant: Juliana Voss
Fight Choreographer: Lena Winter
Sound Designer: Jeff Miller
Lighting Designer: Don Slater
