October 7-13, 2004
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Dublin's famed Abbey Theatre, celebrating its 100th anniversary, brings its production of one of Ireland's most famous and enjoyable plays to Penn's Annenberg Center for seven performances.
J.M. Synge's The Playboy of the Western World is a comedy about charm: A young stranger arrives in an Irish village. His claim to fame is that he killed his father. Girls swoon, woman cook, men admire. The plot twists and turns, people brawl and reconcile and fall in and out of love.
Synge believed that "On the stage one must have reality, and one must have joy. In a good play every speech should be as fully flavored as a nut or apple." Playboy is the very best example of that tasty dialogue. And with the Abbey Theatre being what it is, the dialogue will surely be delivered with authentic "wild coast of Mayo" accents.
The Playboy of the Western World, Tue.-Sun., Oct. 12-17, $29-$49, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-3900.
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