Theater Review: Asolo Rep's Good People

As part of its American Character series, an ambitious five-year project that seeks to "examine and celebrate the extraordinary people, culture, history and experiences that make our country unique," the Asolo Repertory Theatre has consistently delivered a strong dose of acclaimed, modern, character-driven dramas, including Other Desert Cities, Clybourne Park and 4000 Miles.

They've managed quite a bit of success in the genre, and I can honestly say that it is the portion of the season I look forward to most. As such, it was easy to identify David Lindsay-Abaire's 2011 Tony-nominated drama Good People as that play in the 2014/15 lineup.

A down-on-her-luck, hardscrabble single mother in the blue collar Boston neighborhood of "Southie,“ Margie Walsh reconnects with an old flame who is now a doctor in an affluent suburb. The two have grown worlds apart and struggle in rectifying the reasons that fate is kinder to some and how much is owed to both hard work and a lucky draw.

Good People is a character-rich play with intense dialogue that mines territory familiar to anyone who's ever dealt with either the nuances of "escaping“ the place in which they were raised, or the question marks of not having done so.

First season guest artist Denise Cormier is stellar as Margie, a character who drips both desperation and grit in her struggle to keep her head above water after losing her job as a cashier at Dollar General, when Stevie, the son of a deceased acquaintance (played to the nines by third-year Conservatory student Jory Murphy) is forced to let her go for being constantly tardy, owing to the care of her adult disabled daughter.

Margie has a soft support system in friend Jean (Anne-Marie Cusson) and landlady Dottie (Peggy Roeder), bingo buddies who offer plenty of free advice but little in the way of real help. Roeder, who's currently starring in the lead role as Dolly in The Matchmaker (review) is laugh-out-loud hysterical as the cynical old biddy, while Cusson is equally entertaining as the neighborhood's resident big mouth.

Having two leading-lady talents in supporting roles gives director Greg Leaming quite a bit to work with, and he manages to elicit potent chemistry from the mix.

Desperate for work, Margie takes Jean's advice to call on Mike (Tim Grimm), whom Jean had seen at a fundraising event a few days prior. Margie takes to needling her old flame over the trappings of his new lifestyle, hitting a raw nerve when she jokes that he's become "lace-curtain Irish.“

Grimm, who added tremendous depth to last season's production of The Grapes of Wrath, is a successful folk musician who also happens to be a terrific lead actor.

Mike's inner conflict is evident. Claiming to have seen Southie as "a black hole“ from the time he was 13, he worked his way into a white collar life, though he clearly clings to a romanticized notion of his roots without wanting to revisit them in any way – including Margie's forced interaction between the two.

Tyla Abercrombie brings an affected intensity as Mike's "much younger wife“ Kate, an upper-class daughter of privilege, who is eager to learn more about her husband's past É or at least thinks she is until Margie obliges.

Dennis Maley is TBT's editor and featured political columnist. His regular column appears every Thursday and Sunday. He occasionally reviews local theater purely out of love for the art form and claims no particular expertise beyond his considerable experience as an audience member. Click here to visit his column archive. Click here to go to his bio page. He can be reached at dennis.maley@thebradentontimes.com.You can also follow Dennis on Facebook.