A Man of No Importance
Roberts Studio Theatre at the Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA, February 21, 2025
Reviewed by John Amodeo
Photos courtesy of Nile Scott Studios
Paul Daigneault, artistic director of Speakeasy Stage Company, has outdone himself directing Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s A Man of No Importance, a joyful, meaningful, and intimate musical that couldn’t be more apropos right now. The show opened on February 21 and will play at the Roberts Studio Theatre at the Calderwood Pavilion through March 22.
Based on the 1994 Albert Finney film of the same title, A Man of No Importance takes place in Dublin in 1964 and tells the story of Alfie Byrne, a closeted city bus conductor. He overcame the boredom of his job by reciting poetry to his passengers to their delight, thanks to his effervescent enthusiasm. The arrival of a new passenger, the diminutive and fair Adele, inspired him to mount a community theater production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome, with him as director, and her, as his muse and the title character. His daily passengers, along with his bus driver and friend the handsome Robbie Fay, filled out the rest of Salome’s cast, which formed the troupe called the St. Imelda’s Players. The company was named after the church where they rehearsed and would perform. Alfie’s production distressed the parish priest who began to question the appropriateness of the play.
Harboring the secret of the love that dare not speak its name kept Alfie from living a full life and he chose to live with his older sister Lily, who won’t marry until he does. Alfie also harbored an unrequited crush on his very heterosexual friend Robbie, which he suppressed by turning his attention to Adele who, he learned, had a secret of her own. The fear surrounding their secrets and their inevitable consequences once those secrets were revealed threatened to tear apart their close Dublin community.
As associate director and dramaturge Isaac Tardy noted so clearly in the program, “In a society where the Church dictates morality, where art is scrutinized, and where difference is met with suspicion, Alfie’s production, born of personal passion, becomes an unwitting challenge to the norms of the time.” Perhaps this is why the story resonates so clearly today; it is a parable for our times.
Daigneault, who has never before reprised a Speakeasy production, wanted to do this show again, which he had directed in 2003, one more time. It will be his musical swan song before he steps down in June after 33 years as founding Artistic Director. The piece was clearly important to him because it involves a gay man who mounts and directs a play, and notably, is about community. Daigneault’s passion for the play and the theater in general was evident throughout this production. It was filled with heart, delight, and significance that emerged through his and this stellar cast’s clear storytelling.
One of the many reasons to see this show, which is too rarely produced, is to hear Ahrens and Flaherty’s marvelous Irish folk score performed by a talented cast with just the right level of pluck and fervor. Daigneault, inspired by Manhattan’s Classic Stage Company 2022 revival directed by John Doyle, followed Doyle’s tradition of having the actors play instruments throughout the performance. It may be a tradition that has mostly worn out its welcome, but here it worked well as a celebration of the Irish people’s love of folk music, evidenced by the presence of live foot-stomping guitar and fiddle music in just about every pub across Ireland. Music director Paul S. Katz organized the willing cast exceptionally well, and choreographer Ilyse Robbins moved the actors playing instruments so casually around the thrust stage set during the production numbers that it seemed quite natural that they would be carrying and playing instruments.
The cast, almost all Speakeasy veterans, was an embarrassment of riches. Eddie Shields returned to Speakeasy as Alfie after a strong star turn in 2022’s The Inheritance. His Alfie was immediately sympathetic as he navigated a discouraging world while walking on eggshells as carefully as possible to conceal his true self. Not everyone in the cast had perfected their Irish accents, but Shields’ accent was spot on.
Aimee Doherty, one of Boston’s finest actresses, was riveting as Alfie’s sister Lily, who was determined to get him married and out of the house so she could live her own life while knowing that there had always been something in Alfie to prevent that from happening. Her Irish accent was convincing enough to have one think she just got off the boat from the homeland. A natural beauty, she pulled off an amazing transformation into the very plain Lily, abetted by Rachel Padula-Shufelt’s appropriately drab costumes. Given Lily’s mostly imperious nature, it was nice to see Doherty bring out the character’s humor in the song “Books,” which was sung along with Lily’s beau Carney, played by Sam Simahk. Here, the two comically plotted to straighten out Alfie, who they believe had become corrupted by his vast book collection, which was stunningly represented in Jennifer McFarland Lord’s set, one of Speakeasy’s finest.
Rebekah Rae Robles was aptly winsome and demure as Adele and convincing in her sweetly sung “Princess,” where she talked herself into taking on the starring role in Alfie’s play to regain her dignity. As Robbie Fay, Keith Robinson cut a strapping figure as he stood out among the cast with his good looks and towering height. He gave Robbie just the right mix of swagger and naïve charm to make his friendship with the gentle and sensitive Alfie seem genuine and believable.
The rest of the cast provided excellent support, as you would expect from their collective star power. Kathy St. Goerge made every deadpanned bon mot count along with her lovable thousand-watt smile. Kerry Dowling w(ho has performed in Speakeasy productions for over 30 years), Jennifer Ellis, Billy Meleady, Meagan Lewis Michelson, and Will McGarrahan, who have all had lead roles in Speakeasy productions and elsewhere, all seemed thrilled to be in the ensemble, and this catapulted the production quality through the roof.
Each ensemble actor had delightful moments, and Meleady was especially hilarious in “The Cuddles Mary Gave,” about his late plus-sized wife. But when they all sang together in “On the Streets of London,” one of Ahrens and Flaherty’s most thrilling production numbers, the entire house seemed to dance and sway to the on-stage enthusiasm that erupted like a volcano. Robinson was charismatic and galvanizing as he led “On the Streets of Dublin,” even if his singing lacked the requisite power the number needed. (This might have been a tech issue; maybe an adjustment to the sound balance could fix it).
McGarrahan, who has performed in 22 Speakeasy productions going back to its founding year, was a joy to watch, especially in his memorable cameo as the ghost of Oscar Wilde, who became for Alfie the only sounding board with whom he could confront his sexuality and finally come out. Shields was at his finest here. When he finally realized what he needed to do to lead an authentic life despite the perils that might befall him, his “Welcome to the World,” sung with poignant conviction, became the catharsis that makes theater the treasure that it is for all of us.
As our country lurches to the right and loses tolerance for those who are not like us or don’t follow a designated moral code, this production became a story for our times, showing us just how important community is. Thanks go to the Speakeasy whose production of A Man of No Importance reminded us that the needle of our moral compass is better aimed at community and fostering diversity and inclusion than at a nostalgically at a past where only conformity was allowed.
A Man of No Importance plays through March 22, 2025 at the Roberts Studio Theatre, in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. Tickets $25-$95. For performance schedule and to buy tickets, visit: A Man of No Importance | Boston Theatre Scene
