The Playboy of the Western World

This production is a delight. Synge is difficult for American audiences because he writes in Irish dialect. However, this cast, led by Orson Bean and Alley Mills, delivers every line of Synge's poetic script clearly. Even when several characters are arguing in heavy Irish brogues, each word can be heard distinctly. What's more, the production uses spatial and sound effects so well that the action seems to move through a living Irish village. The plot, about a ridiculous wonder of a man becoming a hero through claiming to have murdered his father and finding true love as a result, seems simple and true as you listen to this charming production. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine