Scenes from the Big Picture

Description
Hard to believe, perhaps, that the election-cycle play that best represents the wants and needs of the elusive “everyday Americans” comes from Northern Ireland. Owen McCafferty's epic-yet-pointillist portrait depicts a single day in a city cut down by economic and sectarian conflict, where drugs are a major currency and the fortunes of many ride on dead-end jobs in a meat plant. Director Scott Cummins deftly choreographs a cast of 21 adroitly affecting actors; with so many characters to make distinct, the playwright's momentum takes a while to build, but by the third act, when the camera has pulled back to let us see the butterfly-wing ripples that connect each scenario to the next, the big picture comes into sharp focus.—KV