Erica Murray’s The Loved Ones explores loss, grief, betrayal, and rebirth (photo by Carol Rosegg)
THE LOVED ONES
Irish Repertory Theatre, Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage
132 West 22nd St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Wednesday – Sunday through August 2, $55-$125
irishrep.org
Erica Murray’s The Loved Ones, making its New York City premiere at the Irish Rep through August 2, has a terrific setup. It takes place in an open-plan kitchen/living room in a farmhouse in the Irish countryside, where Nell (Maryann Plunkett) lives alone following the tragic loss of her son, Robin. Although she values her privacy, Nell is in for a crowded, complicated weekend. A young, pregnant Englishwoman, Gabby (Alana Raquel Bowers), has shown up with a suitcase and a backpack, claiming she is having Robin’s baby, explaining that she was one of his students at university. Nell doesn’t believe her son would have done such a thing.
“Well, I don’t know you, do I? You just landed in here and could be a psychopath for all I know. You could be someone who does this all the time, tricking vulnerable mothers with dead sons into giving you money,” Nell says. Gabby, who has not told her family about the baby, responds, “I’m sorry to be ruining your perfect memory of him, really I am, but it’s not like I had a lot of other options. This is his mess as much as it is mine, and since he’s not around to deal with it . . .”
Nell tries to convince Gabby to stay somewhere else, as Robin’s widow, Orla (Clare O’Malley), is on her way to spend a few days at the house, bringing the urn with her late husband’s ashes so they can honor the six-month anniversary of his death. But before Nell can get rid of Gabby, Orla arrives, and Nell and Gabby decide not to tell Orla anything about Gabby’s connection to Robin.
Also, in order to make some extra money, Nell has converted part of the house into an Airbnb, currently occupied by a chatty American tourist, Cheryl-Ann (Donna Lynne Champlin), who keeps notes for her online review and has a penchant for insinuating herself into situations.
But as the melodrama unfurled across two hours and fifteen minutes (with intermission), I found myself predicting far too many lines of dialogue and plot twists; the show began feeling more like a Lifetime movie than a classic Irish tale with dark humor, secrets, and mystery. Directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey (Irishtown, Belfast Girls), the play felt tired and uninvolving, the acting inconsistent.
There were a few unexpected turns that I relished, but in the end it was too little too late. Murray (The Cat’s Mother, All Mod Cons) uses birds as metaphors throughout the show. “Birds can do what we all wish we could do:fly. Nine point nine times out of ten, when you ask someone what they’d like to be reincarnated as, they say a bird so they can fly,” avian enthusiast Cheryl-Ann tells Gabby.
Unfortunately, The Loved Ones never takes off.
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer; you can follow him on Substack here.]