New Ground's latest offering will draw you in
By Ruby Nancy, QUAD-CITY TIMES -- March 2, 2005

If you’re not familiar already with “The Drawer Boy,” you might find yourself attending a performance of this New Ground Theatre production and not really knowing what to expect.

Though most people don’t want to do that, sometimes it is interesting to approach a show without preconceived notions of what it is really about, and then just let the story (or stories) unfold.

In fact, I recommend taking this approach fairly often.

The same is true of “The Drawer Boy,” which is an excellent show that deserves a real recommendation of its own. I will tell you this: it is about two Canadian farmers — lifelong pals whose lives have been quite isolated in the decades since both lost the women they loved — visited by an actor who wants to learn about farming so he can workshop a play about it.

Not exactly a comedy — though, as New Ground’s artistic director Chris Jansen has pointed out, compared to the theater organization’s usual fare, it really is — the show has many funny scenes and some great comic lines.

Theater people and anyone who has ever worked on a farm (how’s that for a combo?) might be the ones who will laugh the most, but there is plenty for everyone else to enjoy, too.

Though it has more laughs than usual, what this play has in common with other dramas at New Ground is its quality. Jansen, who directs this production, has a real eye for great writing as well as the ability to actually direct what is written. Her naturalistic style, which forgoes “grand vision” in favor of authentic human experience, is in full force here, and it has an impact that is truly profound.

Though one part of the set was a bit wobbly at a dress rehearsal I saw earlier in the week, the same is not true of the performers, who even that early were in fine form. The subtle hints of Canadian accents, which were (appropriately) broader during emotional moments, were applied with a light hand — which works perfectly and gave them all an authentic feel.

Pat Flaherty is excellent as Morgan, one of the farmers. His performance is a study in scruffy, passionate reticence, flecked with bright spots of a wry sense of humor that really grows on you. A supremely talented actor whose extensive work is always easy to appreciate, Flaherty still has managed to upstage much of his prior work with this plainspoken, layered performance.

Joined by James Driscoll (as Angus, the other farmer) and Jeff DeLeon (as Miles, the young actor), who also turn in first-rate performances, Flaherty and these two talents create a world that will draw you in. Driscoll’s interpretation of a character who has struggled since a decades-prior war injury is sensitive, realistic and respectful, and De Leon’s performance mixes frustration, optimism, gullibility and an opportunistic streak with a deft hand.

Simply put, “The Drawer Boy” is too good to miss — so make sure you get there before it closes.

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