Hedgerow Theatre’s regional premiere of THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM. L to R – Janis Dardaris, Marcie Bramuccia and Marcia Sauinders. Photo by Mark Garvin.
By Ellen Wilson Dilks
Hedgerow Theatre Company kicks off 2024 with the regional premiere of Irish playwright Enda Walsh’s THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM, which will run now through March 9. Performance times vary, so check the company’s website.
The story takes place in a small town on the coast of Ireland, where fishing and the cannery are the main source of income. However, the village does have one unique attraction—the titular New Electric Ballroom. Key events in the lives of three sisters take place there, though the action unfolds in their rural cottage.
“I used to write plays where you could walk away at the end thinking, ‘Yeah, got it.’ Not anymore. It should bypass the intellect and go straight into your bones.”
– Enda Walsh, Playwright
The above quote held very true for me. I had to really marinate on this one, as well as find as much info as I could online. A jammed packed 75 minutes, it is hard to classify a genre for Walsh’s piece. Absurdist comedy. Fantasy. Memory play. It is a little of all of these.
Older siblings Breda and Clara are recluses in their bare bones home. Much younger sister, Ada, works as an accountant at the local fishery and returns home each evening to her sisters. Breda and Clara’s lives were affected by a long-ago night at the New Electric Ballroom of the title. A visiting musician feeds them a line, and then they are ridiculed by other girls that he wasn’t really interested in them. I won’t go into detail because the language of the play is pure Irish poetry and reveals their experiences so much better than I could.
Hedgerow Theatre’s Artistic Director Marcia Bramuccia is featured in their regional premiere of Enda Walsh’s THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM. Photo by Mark Garvin.
Their telling of chances lost and romances thwarted have become almost a ritual. Breda and Clara can’t move on from the past and Ada keeps prompting them to relive for her. Yet in the midst of this sadness, there is wonderful Irish humor. Of particular comic relief is local fish monger Patsy, who keeps entering with trays of fish and shares the latest in the stultifying lives of the locals. For a brief moment late in the play, he and Ada almost break free of the confines of their lives, but it is not to be. And one imagines this scenario of the three sisters will continue ad infinitum.
Director Emma Gibson has a firm grip on the material, seeing through the lens of comments of social media today and how deeply words can cut. It is an interesting approach. Humans have always been cruel to one another, it is just way more pervasive today.
The nicely detailed set design is the work of Marie Laster, with Paul Kuhn serving as master builder and Aetna Gallagher as scenic painter. Ms. Gibson has also created the soundscape, mixing big band type music with early rock. Lily Fossner’s moody lighting pulls the viewer into the piece well. Georgia Evans provides the costumes—with an assist from Elizabeth Hanson. The many props (including a couple dozen fish) are the work of Kate Fossner and Susan Wefel.
The four actors in the cast are true theatre artists. Philly legends Janis Dardaris and Marcia Saunders are stunning as Breda and Clara, respectively. They illuminate Walsh’s language beautifully, bringing depth and pathos to the two lost souls. Marcie Bramucci is ethereal and achingly vulnerable as Ada. She captures the role’s inner conflicts perfectly. And Stephen Patrick Smith delights as the bubbling, shy Patsy. He is a never-ending bundle of nervous twitches and convoluted stories. Well done all.
My maternal grandfather emigrated here from Ireland, so I have a real love for my people’s gift for storytelling. I must admit though that initially, I wasn’t sure where this play was going. But it held my interest throughout. And days later, I am still thinking about it. That’s good theatre.
When You Go: THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM plays through March 3rd at Hedgerow Theatre – located in a 1740s converted grist mill at 64 Rose Valley Road, in Rose Valley, PA—just outside of Media. The performances have a runtime of 75 minutes—with NO intermission. Best enjoyed by ages 14+ due to subject matter. Performances run Thursdays thru Sundays, with evening curtains at 7:30pm and matinees at 2pm.
The Relaxed performance will be on Sunday, February 25th at 2pm. Visit the website for info on details at the pre-show tour at 1:15.
Open captioned performances are scheduled for February 24th to March 1st.
There is ample free off-street parking, and the theatre is within walking distance of the Media-Elwyn train line—you would get off at the Moylan Station. Nearby Media Borough has a number of wonderful dining options along State Street for a pre-show meal. Or a post-show knosh. Hedgerow is fully handicapped accessible, information regarding this as well as directions, can be found on the Company’s website. For tickets, call (610) 565-4211, or purchase them online. www.hedgerowtheatre.org
NOTE: COVID Protocols: Masks are currently not required, but this may change if the number of cases rises in the area again. Please visit the website for details on these new policies.