‘An Irish Carol’: Dickens’ piece does a pub crawl

By Rich Fahey

STONEHAM – The Irish pub has long been a staple in literature, theater, and the movies, and it mattered not whether that pub was in Ireland itself or any one of many far-flung outposts all over the world where an Irish expatriate may have set up shop.

In the Greater Boston Stage Company’s New England premiere of “An Irish Carol,” the pub will be a place of regrets, and a test to see whether life’s hard knocks will force an embittered pub owner to lose all hope.

The play by Matthew J. Keenan has become a holiday staple at the Keegan Theatre in Washington, D.C. Keenan has not shied away from connecting the dots when it comes to his updating of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” with a variety of characters standing in not only for Ebenezer Scrooge, but his nephew Fred,  Scrooge’s one-time fiancée Belle, and Bob Cratchit, to name just a few.

It’s Christmas Eve 2008 at Dennehy’s Pub in Dublin City and the foul disposition of pub owner David (Robert Walsh) and the recession that rippled around the world in 2008 have contributed to putting the pub – which has been in his family for decades — in a precarious financial position.

That leaves Walsh’s David with pretty much a permanent pout; the role that is a stand-in for Ebenezer Scrooge is actually a bit underwritten at times for a central character who sometimes seems to vanish into the background for long periods of time.   But early on he is all over the beleaguered Bartek (Alex Deroo), a Polish bartender whose family is still struggling to find its footing in Ireland. When David tells Bartek to report to work Christmas Day at “Half nine,” even though Bartek’s daughter is celebrating her 7^th birthday, Bartek becomes the Polish Bob Cratchit.

There is inspired casting when it comes to two of David’s remaining “regulars.”  Richard Snee is Frank, with mischief on his mind and blarney on his lips, who morphs into Norm, from the iconic sitcom “Cheers,” a bit of a profane Irish poet. He parries and thrusts, often making himself the butt of the joke, a hale fellow well met hoping for the next one in the door to be buying a round.

Ross McDonald is a perfect pairing as Jim, another longtime regular and Frank’s longtime drinking buddy, more of a family man, who together with Frank tries to lift David’s spirits to no avail.

A succession of visitors to the pub highlights David’s sad situation. His brother Michael (Alex M. Jacobs) comes by, asking him to close the bar and join him and his family for a Christmas Eve meal. Frank hasn’t seen his nephews for years, and a third child is about to arrive, but he is “too busy” in the all-but-deserted bar.

A young couple named Simon (Alex Leondedis) and Anna (Julia Hertzberg) follow, bursting with excitement as they announce their engagement. Simon, who used to work for David but now is aligned with a group that owns several thriving upscale pubs, wants to buy David out but he refuses. Simon’s all-out press screams of naked greed, alienating Anna, a special education teacher, who storms out of the pub.

And, eventually, the most threatening visitor of all, Richard (Paul Valley), a former Dennehy’s employee who took advantage of David’s neglect of “Bernie” to steal the woman away from him. In Jacob Marley fashion, she has passed away a year  before – on Christmas Eve. Richard carries a letter that he vowed to Bernie he would deliver to David.

As he reads the letter, David’s seemingly frozen expression starts to thaw and soften as he begins to find solace and hope.  The pace of Keenan’s piece tends to slow a bit as we approach what we hope will be David’s ultimate redemption.

Weylin Symes, GBSC’s longtime artistic director, has never really gotten his due as a director. He has always had the ability to rake a piece that may be, in this case, imperfect and give it the best possible re-telling, combining strong production values, adroit casting, and a feel for the right pacing. It also means getting the small but important things – such as dialects – correct.

Saskia Martinez’s set is warm and welcoming, with the little touches that make all the difference. Chelsea Kerl’s costumes are en pointe,

What would an Irish pub be without music? Thirty minutes before each performance, you can grab a pint and listen to Irish musician Lindsay Straw, an Irish bouzouki player, guitarist, and singer, joined by either fiddlers Cara Frankowicz or Clare Fraser, or accordionist Dan Accardi.

A small caveat. The language in “Carol” is a bit salty, but nothing you wouldn’t have heard before in any bar, especially when customers have had a few drinks.

“An Irish Carol” overflows with the warmth and wit you would expect from a piece set in an Irish pub, and Keenan draws a satisfying ending appropriate for a play that has Dickens’s “Carol” as its template.”

The Greater Boston Stage Company production of “An Irish Carol.” Written by Matthew J. Keenan. Directed by Weylin Symes. At the Greater Boston Stage Company through Dec. 21. Greaterbostonstage.org.