There isn't much luck of the Irish for the Boston Southies in David Lindsay-Abaire's excellent new play, Good People. Portrayed by a six-person ensemble led by Frances McDormand, the desperation of the working class is tough stuff leavened with gritty humor. Blame it on the economy, blame it on bad breaks, blame it on their own lack of ambition or talent, but life is a struggle. Their hope seems to ride on some stroke of luck, either landing a menial job or scoring at the bingo table.
What happens to working class people when there is no work? Lindsay-Abaire has a contemporary theme, but the heart of the play is universal with characters who are strong, funny, and multilayered. Frances McDormand portrays Margie, a sarcastic, tough-talking survivor with bad breaks. When she loses her job as a cashier in the Dollar Store, she is left with horrendous debts and a severely disabled adult daughter. The babysitter is undependable, a crusty landlady, Dottie (Estelle Parsons), who waits for the moment when Margie can't pay the rent so her son can get the apartment. With no job prospects on the horizon, that opportunity is looming.
Margie's girlfriend, Jean, played with snappy smarts by Becky Ann Baker, urges her to reconnect with a boyfriend, Mike (Tate Donovan), who escaped from the neighborhood with a scholarship and medical school. He is back 30 years later, and Margie awkwardly shows up at his office. Circling him in a well-crafted scene of defensiveness and biting tension, she takes in the diplomas, the photos, reminding him about old times, before finally, and unsuccessfully, asking him for a job. Her curiosity about Mike's younger, African-American wife and his home in an upscale suburb, prompts Margie to finagle an invitation to his upcoming birthday party. He later cancels the party but she shows up anyway, and it is on this night in Act II where emotions explode, old secrets are revealed and fierce passions are released.
Director David Sullivan paces the play with sensitivity and insight. Each character is on target. Estelle Parsons provides laughs as the self-serving landlady whose "art" career is making rabbits out of Styrofoam and flower pots. Jean scores as Margie's supportive pal. Tate Donovan is excellent, assuming the upscale smoothness of his position yet inside, he is still the hard-bitten, street-smart Mikey from Southie. He had learned to describe himself to his wife as a kid from the projects but neglected to reveal the violence, racism and selfishness underscoring that image.
Renée Elise Goldsberry plays Kate, his wife, a sensitive lawyer with a natural poise, rising to passion only in her fierce opinions about motherhood versus personal pride. This leads to a face-off with Margie escalating to passionate revelations about Mike.
Patrick Carroll has a convincing Broadway debut as Stevie, who fires Margie and later surprises her in a move of generosity. Throughout the play, you do not take your eyes off Frances McDormand, her expressive face shadowed with desperation, and envy, her tongue quick with sarcasm and defensiveness.
John Lee Beatty's set adds to the meticulous design of this production with turntables that unveil well-designed scenes, including a back alley with a dumpster and a living room in an upscale suburb.
David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People is a thought-provoking study of the American dream, weighing luck versus initiative, pride versus responsibility, and the truth and baggage weaving through the lives of ordinary, "good people."
