This London satire, well received on Broadway, has become an international hit.
By JOHN FLEMING
Published September 11, 2003
[Times photo: Cherie Diez]
Christopher Swan and Brian Webb Russell play many parts in the comedy Stones in His Pockets. Above, Swan, left, is Aisling and Russell is Caroline. Below, they‘re Jake and Charlie, two Irish film extras at the heart of the play.
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Longer runs and multiple venues are part of the new artistic director's drive to make performances by Tampa Bay's oldest theater company bigger and better-attended. American Stage's 2003-04 season
A quick look at the season
When a U.S. film crew descends upon an Irish village, satire ensues in Stones in His Pockets, which opens American Stage's 2003-04 season. But Marie Jones' play, a long-running London hit that was on Broadway two years ago, has a dark side in the subplot of a troubled young man who commits suicide by filling his pockets with stones and walking into the sea.
Brian Webb Russell and Christopher Swan are Charlie and Jake, respectively, the Irish extras at the heart of the play. Their mockery of the filmmakers is undercut by belief in the dreams that Hollywood churns out. The two actors also play a dozen other characters, from Mickey, the only surviving extra from John Ford's epic The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne, to starlet Caroline Giovanni.
"It's the most exciting Irish play since The Beauty Queen of Leenane," says artistic director Todd Olson, directing his first play for the company. "I've never worked on a play quite like this. It's really part film, part play, and it's a fascinating animal that way. We'll have maybe six instances where we'll be incorporating film with stage action."
Olson has not seen another production of Stones, which is getting its Tampa Bay area premiere. "I just know it from the page," he says. "It's had a fascinating life. It's been translated into dozens of languages. People in countries all over the world are seeing something in this story about these two down-on-their-luck guys who find a reason for living. It's a real hero's journey."
PREVIEW: Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones opens Friday and runs through Oct. 12 at American Stage in St. Petersburg. Tickets: $22-$32. 727 823-7529 or www.americanstage.org
