When “The Playboy of the Western World,” written by John Millington Synge, first premiered in January of 1907, there was so much outrage over its subject matter protestors rioted.
This weekend, 102 years after its premier, director Sandy Moffett and cast are putting the show at the B.G. Voertman Theatre located in the Community Center on 4th Street. Tickets will be five dollars for students, eight for seniors and $10 for adults. The production starts at 7:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday with a matinee slated for 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
At the beginning of the production protagonist Christy Mahon saunters into a small town Irish pub claiming to the barkeep’s daughter, Peegan, that he has killed his own father, with a gardening spade no less. Interest piqued, Peegan decides Mahon is the quality husband she seeks and soon tells her father of her choice. After only a short while Christy manages to become main interest of the town’s folk. The following events (or should I say fallout) violate the logic and morals of our modern society just as abrasively as they did at the turn of the 20th century— though that does not mean it cannot be funny, it is a satire after all. The audience will surely remember the production, though I’m willing to bet the only riots will be of laughter.