Theater Review - Bring in Da noise

In Theatre Gael’s Da, Charlie Tynan (J.A.S. Sustritch), an Irish writer who immigrated to America decades earlier, is haunted by his recently deceased father (John Stephens). It’s rather a benign haunting, more like the pesky specter of Blithe Spirit than the accusing ghost of Hamlet’s pop, but it reflects Charlie’s anger and guilt over his impoverished Irish childhood.

Written by Hugh Leonard, Da finds Charlie back in his Irish hometown of Dalkey, eager to put the family affairs in order and return to America, but he finds himself squabbling with his father’s imaginary ghost and flashing back to major moments of his childhood. Chris Moses nicely plays young Charlie as a bookish, frustrated young man who at times has sharp exchanges with his future self: “You’re a bit of a disappointment.” Theatre Gael, as in its production of Brian Friel memory plays, has shown a penchant for Irish playwrights who talk to themselves.

Da’s nostalgic moments can be amusing and poignant, such as young Charlie’s disastrous attempt to seduce a local blonde nicknamed “the Yellow Peril” (Tess Panzer). Perhaps the play’s most unique character is Drumm (Larry Davis), Charlie’s first employer, a severe intellectual who serves as surrogate parent to Charlie’s elitist attitudes about his background.

Early on, Da has us wondering why Charlie’s so mad at his dead dad, and even by the play’s end, it’s not entirely clear. Charlie rails about his father’s blandness, his blinkered attitudes, his self-effacing humility in his career as a gardener. But the depth of Charlie’s rage feels out of proportion with what we see — we believe it, but don’t quite understand it. Perhaps Sustritch makes Charlie too much like a petulant adolescent, or Stephens makes “Da” too lovably winsome.

Directed by Sherri Sutton, Da sets before the audience plenty of vivid character insights and period details, but it never gets a sure hand on the central father-and-son conflict. For all its charms, Theatre Gael’s production of Da feels like one that got away.

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Da plays through Oct. 6 at the 14th Street Playhouse, 173 14th St. Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 5 p.m. $16-$22. 404-876-9762. www.theatregael.com.??