Nicely balanced at about half side-splitting comedy and half heart-breaking tragedy, The Good Father is an impressive effort by playwright Christian O’Reilly. His professional background as a screenwriter no doubt honed his keen gift for dialogue displayed in this two-character play. This production by Milwaukee Chamber Theater is the play’s Midwest premiere.
The first awkward conversation between the two singles (Jane and Tim) of The Good Father takes place at a New Year’s Eve party in Dublin. Their chatter soon progresses to casual sex and an unwanted pregnancy. One can imagine the even-more-uncomfortable conversations in the scenes that follow.
Not a situation you’d expect to be laughing about? Guess again. For instance, the playwright indicates Jane’s degree of drunkenness by giving her a host of unintentionally funny one-liners. Even something as simple as the set-up for a knock-knock joke seems too complicated for her booze-soaked brain to handle. We learn that Jane is a lonely lawyer who is recovering from a bad break-up. Tim is a salt-of-the-earth house painter who was invited to the party only because he painted the host’s kitchen. When Jane sees Tim sitting alone at the party, she pounces.
In the Milwaukee Chamber Theater production of The Good Father, Tim and Jane are played by real-life married couple Jonathan Wainwright and Laura Gray. Since Wainwright has the meatier part (well, the play is called The Good Father), he has more of an opportunity to make a solid impression on the audience. This he does, in spades. In fact, this is probably the performance of Wainwright’s long career. He brilliantly makes his transition from carefree bachelorhood to soon-to-be dedicated dad.
It is worth noting that both of these American actors do an excellent job with their Irish accents. This further distinguishes their social divide, as Wainwright deftly uses his lower-class accent to use the slang with which he is familiar. Gray sometimes uses her more “genteel” phrasing to throw verbal jabs at Wainwright.
Nonetheless, Tim’s unwavering dedication eventually wins over the reluctant Jane. This may be doing things backwards (baby first, romance second), but the skilled cast, under the equally skilled direction by C. Michael Wright makes it seem plausible.
Laura Gray’s tall, waifish physique makes us visually aware of the predicament in which Jane finds herself. She is by turns vulnerable and conniving. She shares a long litany of events from her past that become a series of “disappointments” in the eyes of her parents. “You should know what you’re getting into,” she warns Tim.
As events unfold, the light-hearted banter between the couple begins to sour. Near the end of her pregnancy, Jane complains about the pain in her back, as well as her feet. She snaps at Tim’s well-meaning comments. Her growing belly is a constant reminder of impending motherhood. Still, Tim remains almost unbelievably upbeat as he focuses his thoughts on the father he wants so desperately to become.
Aside from relationship issues, the play also touches on a number of other important subjects. Among them are the differences between the social classes, the importance of a strong family-support system, the trap of fostering illusions versus dealing with harsh reality, and the search for one’s identity.
The one small fault in O’Reilly’s play is his insistence on tying things up neatly at the end. This is perhaps more necessary in a film script than in one written for a play, and it (slightly) detracts from what otherwise is an excellent evening of theater. However, if one believes that Tim’s optimism is so contagious that Jane becomes caught up in it, then the ending should seem exactly right.
