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NEW YORK -- If you've ever been in therapy, you've no doubt wondered what personal neuroses your shrink is battling outside the office.
The lesson of Conor McPherson's Shining City (*** out of four), now playing at Broadway's Biltmore Theatre, is be grateful for what you don't know.
Actually, Shining City isn't nearly as straightforward or judgmental as that summary might suggest. As presented by the Manhattan Theatre Club, the play, first produced in London, offers a more complex and curious view of those who dispense the talking cure, and those who seek it out.
Set in Dublin, Shining City focuses on John, a recently bereaved man who suffers from strange visions, and Ian, the earnest young therapist who tries to help him. The grief fueling John's seemingly overactive imagination is exacerbated by guilt, which stems from the doubt and disappointment that he believes tainted his devotion to his late wife.
It soon becomes clear that Ian also has issues with commitment to women, though of a decidedly different nature and origin. Before entering his current vocation, Ian had planned to dedicate his life to a higher calling, and ... well, let's just say he has a few lingering doubts of his own.
For all the questions it raises about challenges posed by faith, responsibility and communication, McPherson's work is ultimately most compelling as a character study. Under Robert Falls' sensitive, intelligent direction, its quiet powers are movingly realized.
As played by Brian F. O'Byrne, most recently seen on Broadway as the charismatic but suspicious priest in Doubt, Ian is this City's emotional center. O'Byrne's nervous would-be healer is a fully fleshed individual, whose flaws are by turns frustrating, maddening, endearing and heartbreaking.
Oliver Platt's John is at first blush a less intricate piece of work; the musical flow of his adopted Irish brogue can threaten to become monotonous, especially during his longer patches of conversation and confession. But Platt brings the right gruff energy to the role and, when necessary, a balanced, credible pathos.
Martha Plimpton, likewise, delivers both sass and sadness as Ian's much-put-upon girlfriend, and Peter Scanavino lends quirky charm as a youth in whom Ian confides.
Songs by Gene Clark and Neil Young ensure the simultaneously soothing and haunting vibe lingers between scenes. There also is a touch of goth, via a surprise twist that almost rivals the one in Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore.
Shining City, which has garnered Tony nominations for play and leading actor (Platt), may not provide the glorious adrenaline rush of that comedy, but McPherson's gentler probing creates its own soft glow.
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