Derivative 'Seafarer' still a devilish delight

According to literature, Satan shows up in the most unexpected places. From Faust's little corner of Germany to Daniel Webster's rural New Hampshire, this guy gets around. It should come as no surprise, then, to find Old Scratch in a tiny coastal town north of Dublin, following the nose of stale Irish whiskey to snatch another hapless soul.

Contemporary Ireland is where playwright Conor McPherson planted the Devil for his Tony Award-nominated play, "The Seafarer," which is running now at American Stage Theatre. Quality writing, not the storyline, stopped McPherson's work from falling into the fires of literary cliché.

What kept the American Stage production equally in tow was the superb acting, especially of the Devil himself, played by Tom Nowicki. Todd Olson directed this stellar cast on a pickled journey across Allen Loyd's authentically dilapidated set.

Come one morning, we meet Sharky (Christopher Swan), his blind brother Richard (Richard Coppinger) and friend Ivan (Brian Webb Russell). Sharky has returned home from a job to tend Richard and pick up empty bottles. The picture McPherson paints is of grizzled old men who live to drink and drink to live, searching for peace in a six-pack.

Act I shuffles along in this way, with punches of black humor and allusions to dark pasts. But about 45 minutes in, family friend Nicky (Steve Garland) arrives with Mr. Lockhart (Nowicki) to slap some life onto this drab canvas.

Dapper, refined and shadowed in the unknown, Lockhart shows his horns to Sharky after everyone else leaves the room. The Devil has come to collect his dues, and Sharky's 25-year-old debt is huge.

In Act II, Sharky's fate is read, quite literally, in the cards.

Nowicki should be pleased to know that he mastered Satan. His performance was smooth, controlled and chilling. His quiet brand of evil brought home the horror of Sharky's future. With that also came a touch of melancholy that made Nowicki's character seem both ancient and tired. It was an ideal performance.

Contrasting well with Swan's low-key show of bitter resignation, Coppinger and Russell excelled in comic relief. Garland, too, brought a touch of farce, but for Sunday's matinee he tended to overdo, perhaps to compensate for McPherson's unoriginal extra character.

And "unoriginal" best describes McPherson's efforts here. Produced anywhere but at American Stage, this play could easily be forgotten.

THEATER REVIEW

The Seafarer

WHEN: Through Aug. 15; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

WHERE: American Stage Theatre Company at the Raymond James Theatre, 163 Third St. N., St. Petersburg; call (727) 823-7529 or visit www.americanstage.org

HOW MUCH: $26-$45, depending on date and time of performance

RUNNING TIME: Approximately 150 minutes