AS IF THEATRE "Outside Mullingar" October 2 through October 19, 2025 Opening Night Review
OUTSIDE MULLINGAR
By John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Cindy Giese French
As If Theatre Company
Kenmore Community Club
Kenmore, WA
October 2, 2025 - 7:30pm Opening Night Review
My favorite time of year has arrived which also coincides with the new offering from As If Theatre in Kenmore, WA. A co-production with Circle Of Fire Theatre, the play is called “Outside Mullingar” and let me tell you up front - it’s one heck of a production.
As always, I’d rather the reader attend a performance than read about the plot details in one of my reviews, so onto other matters. Namely, the cast.
The show features Jason Gingold (as Anthony), Molly Hall (as Rosemary), Bill Johns (as Tony), and Judith Shahn (as Aoife).
I loved Jason Gingold’s performance three years ago in “The Foreigner” at As If Theatre. As Anthony, he superbly brings to life the son that never seems to find acceptance from his family (particularly his father). Jason consistently displayed physical mannerisms of someone that was insecure about his place in the world. He also delivered his comedic lines with great timing which added a witty richness to the entire show.
Molly Hall’s character of Rosemary matched Jason’s character of Anthony step for step. Molly made everything her character did seem so easy even though the audience knew that it wasn’t. Her performance was arguably her best that I’ve seen thus far.
Every now and again I’ll catch a performance from an actor I wasn’t familiar with that just stuns me. Bill Johns was one such actor on Thursday evening. His take on the father Tony was so immersive that I instantly believed his character from the first minute of his dialogue. I didn’t see an actor playing a character. I only saw an at first hard to like father named Tony who later became, well, I’ll leave that for you to see (no spoilers here).
And Judith Shahn was yet another part of the cast that was just as rock solid as could be. I love watching professionals who have years of experience attack their craft with such precision that can only be attained from years of performance on the stage. And Judith knocked it out of the theatrical park.
Cindy Giese French and the other wonderful staff kept the production as high quality as possible. From Cindy’s directing (again, a theatre veteran who knows what she’s doing) to the staging and beyond, the show felt as complete as it possibly could.
It’s honestly rare when a play stirs up emotions that parallel things in my own life but “Outside Mullingar” did just that. It’s transparent in its honest approach to things that happen to people all over the world. It sprinkles in dashes of comedy that were also authentic and extremely relatable. The ups and downs of life are aspects of the play that anyone could relate to.
“Outside Mullingar” isn’t a “downer” type of play at all. Instead it’s a dramatic turn on scenarios that will ring true in some way if you open your heart and let it in.
So, don’t be a lump and go see a performance. There are pay what you can performances coming up this week if that helps get you to Kenmore to witness this extraordinary play.
Highly Recommended.
Purchase tickets: HERE!
Best,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts Media
Connect with Eclectic Arts Media: Social Media Links and Email
By John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Cindy Giese French
As If Theatre Company
Kenmore Community Club
Kenmore, WA
October 2, 2025 - 7:30pm Opening Night Review
(Photos by Christine Mitchell)
My favorite time of year has arrived which also coincides with the new offering from As If Theatre in Kenmore, WA. A co-production with Circle Of Fire Theatre, the play is called “Outside Mullingar” and let me tell you up front - it’s one heck of a production.
As always, I’d rather the reader attend a performance than read about the plot details in one of my reviews, so onto other matters. Namely, the cast.
The show features Jason Gingold (as Anthony), Molly Hall (as Rosemary), Bill Johns (as Tony), and Judith Shahn (as Aoife).
(Photos by Christine Mitchell)
I loved Jason Gingold’s performance three years ago in “The Foreigner” at As If Theatre. As Anthony, he superbly brings to life the son that never seems to find acceptance from his family (particularly his father). Jason consistently displayed physical mannerisms of someone that was insecure about his place in the world. He also delivered his comedic lines with great timing which added a witty richness to the entire show.
Molly Hall’s character of Rosemary matched Jason’s character of Anthony step for step. Molly made everything her character did seem so easy even though the audience knew that it wasn’t. Her performance was arguably her best that I’ve seen thus far.
Every now and again I’ll catch a performance from an actor I wasn’t familiar with that just stuns me. Bill Johns was one such actor on Thursday evening. His take on the father Tony was so immersive that I instantly believed his character from the first minute of his dialogue. I didn’t see an actor playing a character. I only saw an at first hard to like father named Tony who later became, well, I’ll leave that for you to see (no spoilers here).
And Judith Shahn was yet another part of the cast that was just as rock solid as could be. I love watching professionals who have years of experience attack their craft with such precision that can only be attained from years of performance on the stage. And Judith knocked it out of the theatrical park.
Cindy Giese French and the other wonderful staff kept the production as high quality as possible. From Cindy’s directing (again, a theatre veteran who knows what she’s doing) to the staging and beyond, the show felt as complete as it possibly could.
(Photos by Christine Mitchell)
It’s honestly rare when a play stirs up emotions that parallel things in my own life but “Outside Mullingar” did just that. It’s transparent in its honest approach to things that happen to people all over the world. It sprinkles in dashes of comedy that were also authentic and extremely relatable. The ups and downs of life are aspects of the play that anyone could relate to.
“Outside Mullingar” isn’t a “downer” type of play at all. Instead it’s a dramatic turn on scenarios that will ring true in some way if you open your heart and let it in.
So, don’t be a lump and go see a performance. There are pay what you can performances coming up this week if that helps get you to Kenmore to witness this extraordinary play.
Highly Recommended.
Purchase tickets: HERE!
Best,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts Media
Connect with Eclectic Arts Media: Social Media Links and Email
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