Theater Review: Outside Mullingar

And God saw the light, that it was good.

So the Bible tells us, but you wouldn’t know it to look at the history of American plays, whose writers seem to dwell in stygian gloom, often cloaking their plays in cynical hopelessness.

Happily, John Patrick Shanley missed the memo — I can’t think of a more openhearted playwright. I don’t think it’s giving anything away to say that Outside Mullingar, beautifully done at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, is heartwarming.

Fans of Shanley’s breakthrough film script for Moonstruck (I’m one) will find much that is familiar here. The location is different — here we’re in an Irish country town — but the central idea is strikingly similar. Anthony and Rosemary, middle-aged neighbors, both a bit lost and broken, haltingly try to connect, while a pair of elders (his father, her mother) observe with a salty sense of wisdom. 

But rest assured that Outside Mullingar is not simply another trip to the well. Setting, character and language are distinctive. Shanley, one of our most poetic playwrights, is in top form here in terms of providing flavorful dialogue. This is not a big play — it’s more gossamer-fragile. But it’s lyrical, lovely and altogether winning.

I do think there could be a bit more cloud-cover in this mostly excellent production. Moments of quiet seriousness could be deeper. But much of it is first-rate, including fine performances across the board, and a superlative one by Anthony Lawton, who manages to make every nuance look easy.

It’s also handsomely staged by director Mary B. Robinson. My British partner, who attended with me, nodded approvingly at seeing a three-pronged plug for the tea kettle. God is in the details — and here, they shine.

Through Dec. 28, $52, Philadelphia Theatre Co. at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St., 215-985-0420, philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.