PSU Theater Department Presents "A Man of No Importance"

(Left to right) Abigail Wright, Jakob Stone, Roland DuBois, Kyle Wolcott, Adam Beauparlant, and Sarah Kelly.

The PSU Theatre Department presents “A Man of No Importance” in the Silver Center this weekend, April 7-10, directed by Fran Page.

The musical takes place in 1964, in Dublin. It follows Alfie Byrne (Roland DuBois), a bus conductor who directs an amateur theater troupe called St. Imelda's Players. He casts a newcomer, Adele Rice (Abigail Wright), as the female lead in Oscar Wilde’s “Salome.” Church authorities want to shut down the play. His sister Lily (Olivia Opal) wants him to get married, but Alfie falls in love with bus driver Robbie Fay (Gavin Morgan), and has to learn to be comfortable with himself. 

“The story connects, I think, to a very wide audience, because it’s just poignant, and it explores the human condition,” said Page. “It explores the difficulties of life and how we all can connect and help support each other.” 

The musical is based off of the 1994 film of the same name. It was written into a musical by Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, and Terrence McNally, and premiered at Lincoln Center in 2002.  

“The movie’s beautiful on its own, it’s a lovely, lovely film starring Albert Finney, but what I think that they really did, was they captured the heart of that film, and the way that they musicalized it, I think heightened the sense of care and emotion,” said Page. “When you read about the show, it talks a lot about how it encompasses the Irish culture with loyalty and pride, and it really showcases that culture through the musical.” 

Alfie is played by PSU junior Roland DuBois. Like his character, DuBois said he doesn’t always fit in. “What’s great about Alfie though, is the times that he does fit it, when he’s reading his poetry, when he’s with his books, when he’s in the theater, that’s when he comes alive. That’s when he’s beautiful. And the same goes for me, when I’m by myself reading a book, or listening to music, or in the theater, I feel like myself.”

 Roland DuBois as Alfie

DuBois went to Ireland this winter as part of an exchange program, along with Catherine Jacobs, the assistant director, and B. Christopher Williams, the dramaturg.

“Going to Dublin helped me figure out that this city has a lot of character to it, and these people have a lot of heart, a lot of soul, and they love their country so much,” said DuBois. “It’s so much different with Americans.”

 One unique feature in the show is the personification of Oscar Wilde (Jakob Stone), who acts as the voice in Alfie’s head. “It’s interesting to appear in these moments as Alfie’s guardian. He’s the one who’s leading him down this road to show him that it’s OK to be who he is and not care what other people think,” said Stone.

 Another unique quality in the show is the dynamic of putting on a show about a show. “What’s so funny is that this show frames the process of making theater very true to life, and so we found a lot of similarities between our process and the whole idea of this group putting on a play,” said Page. “So the same kinds of habits we get into in a rehearsal process, the same kind of challenges we face, it absolutely came together in both story and process.”

Half of the set in the Studio Theatre is occupied by St. Imelda’s stage, just about a foot high. “At one point we go up on stage and have to act like we’re in a scene, so I always get this weird feeling, because I realize that I’m in a show, on a stage, in a show,” said Adam Beauparlant, who plays Ernie Lally.

This show is especially important to those involved, because Kathleen Arecchi, who was going to be the music director for the show, passed away this past February. “I think it’s our love letter to her, and that’s what makes it even more poignant for us,” said Page.

 Olivia Opal said that Arecchi helped her connect with her character, Lily. “It reminded her of her aunts and her mother. She comes from a very Irish background, and she confided in me a lot about that,” said Opal. “After she passed away, it just made the story even more real for me, and it made it even more obvious and clear that this is for her, and this is for her memory. She would want Lily’s character portrayed accurately, and with love, so now I connect with [Lily] even deeper than I did at first.”

 Page said he hopes audiences will take away a sense of connectedness. “I’m hoping that they’ll leave the show feeling reconnected to their lives, and that’s what I think this play is about. It’s about connecting to yourself and believing in yourself.”

 “I’m hoping people will see Ireland and Dublin as more than just leprechaun land, and as a place of beauty and life and love,” said DuBois. “I’m hoping that they’ll see the side of homosexuality in a different light, that we’re different than just flamboyant characters on your favorite sitcom. We are multifaceted and we love different things. I’m hoping people will learn to love other people for their differences.”

 “Maybe they’ll crack open an Oscar Wilde book after this too,” he said. “That’d be nice.”

 “A Man of No Importance” is playing at the Silver Center for the Arts on April 8 at 7 p.m., April 9 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and April 10 at 2 p.m. Visit http://www.plymouth.edu/silver-center or call (603) 535-2787 for tickets.

CLOCK PHOTOS/ALEX CROSSLEY