Are there any two more painful and provocative words in the English language than “what if”? Steven Dietz’s Bloomsday is a sensitive time-bending romance looking at one consequential day when a 20-year-old American tourist meets an Irish lass in Dublin in this Washington Stage Guild area premiere Both are haunted over the next 35 years by what might have resulted if the spark of young love had been allowed to burn.
Robert (Steven Carpenter) is a jaded middle-aged English professor who opens the play encouraging the audience to see clearly a vibrant young Irish woman named Caithleen (Danielle Scott). We soon realize that she is the living embodiment of the woman who captured his heart in a single day (Bloomsday, which celebrates the June 16th in which all events happen in James Joyce’s modernist masterpiece Ulysses). The fact that this day occurred 35 years ago gives the story an aura of mysterious time-shifting.
Robert unnerves Caithleen with his knowledge of intimate details of her life and descriptions of what will happen when she leads the day’s tour of Dublin landmarks featured in Joyce’s novel. Key among his predictions is she will meet a young man named Robbie (Josh Adams), the younger version of Robert.
Robert later also encounters his younger self, castigating him as an arrogant, stupid young man and warning him not to miss his upcoming opportunity with Caithleen. He warns Robbie that “There’s plenty of fish in the sea is hogwash. We only get this one chance.”
Rounding out the cast is Cait (Megan Anderson), the middle-aged incarnation of Caithleen. She tries to warn her younger self about projecting her dreams too quickly upon young Robbie. “Asking a boy to see his future is asking a mole to see the stars.”
Bloomsday closes February 16, 2020. DCTS details and tickets
During the first act, the revelations come out in a scatter-shot fashion, perhaps the playwright’s homage to the non-linear, stream-of-consciousness style utilized by Joyce in Ulysses. More satisfying is the second act where we see the actual encounter of Caithleen and Robbie.
Dietz’s writing of the interaction between the two is authentic, capturing the sweetness and awkwardness of their initial attraction. Caithleen’s “will he love me when he truly knows me” insecurity and Robbie’s hesitance at taking her hand really exemplify the touching tone and lyrical writing that overcome the clunky plot device.
The older couple also have their moments, leading to a meeting of modern-day Robert and Cait. It has its own charm but with a bittersweet twist.
The ensemble shines with well-balanced performances. Steven Carpenter exudes cynical charm as the English professor who actually teaches yet despises Ulysses, which he describes as an “overpraised, underread piece of doggerel.” Megan Anderson as Cait is more accepting of her fate, resigned but still showing underlying regret.
Another bright star in this talented cast is Danielle Scott who gives a memorable performance as the feisty but vulnerable Caithleen. Scott and Anderson also are a believable pair as the younger and older versions as the same character.
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In contrast, it is a little harder to imagine Josh Adams growing into an English professor as his portrayal of Robbie is a little more clueless than arrogant or stupid (as described by his older self). Perhaps Adams and director Kasi Campbell sought to make Robbie a more sympathetic character.
Overall, the production is impressive. The scenic design of Carl Gudenius and Jingwei Dai features large, nostalgic photos and a central scrim of the cover of Joyce’s Ulysses, appropriate given the way the book looms over the play. The costumes of Ben Argenta Kress are appealing, especially the Edwardian outfits worn in celebration of Bloomsday. Of course, the cast demonstrates total mastery of the lyrical but sometimes dense writing of Deitz, one of the recurring virtues of Washington Stage Guild productions.
Bloomsday by Steven Dietz. Directed by Kasi Campbell. Featuring Josh Adams, Megan Anderson, Steven Carpenter, and Danielle Scott. Scenic Design: Carl Gudenius, Jingwei Dai. Costumes: Ben Argenta Kress. Lighting: Marianne Meadows. Sound Design: David Bryan Jackson. Intimacy Director: Jenny Male. Stage Manager: Arthur Nordlie. Produced by Washington Stage Guild. Reviewed by Steven McKnight.
