MetroWest Daily E-News
Lenny
at Large: No topic off limits at the Lyric
By Lenny
Megliola
Thursday,
January 2, 2003
It's 1999, and
Jack Neary's mom is kibitzing with two of her cronies. The hot topic is Bill
Clinton's sordid affair with Monica Lewinsky. Later, mom tells son, "Mrs.
O'Malley just explained oral sex to Mrs. O'Neill."
That little
revelation, says playwright Neary, "sort of triggered the whole
thing." Neary sat down and knocked off a quickie play entitled "Oral
Report" (original title: "Sex and Catholics") which was
performed at the inaugural Boston Theatre Marathon of Boston Ten-Minute Plays
at Boston Playwrights Theatre. Neary's play centered around three ladies on the
front porch shooting the breeze, ever so bluntly (and humorously). The work was
well-received. "So when the 2000 (Boston Theatre) Marathon came along, I
put the three ladies on the front porch again and gave them a new topic with
the same category. Sex."
Eventually,
Neary had six Catholic-oriented shorties which led to a full-length play. And
tomorrow night it opens at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, but with the
Catholic church reeling from scandal, Neary's original "Sex and
Catholics" title has been softened to "Beyond Belief."
Neary, a Lowell
resident, describes the play as "three innocent elderly women sitting
talking about anything." Was Neary shocked the first time he heard about
his mom's chats with her friends? "No, that's the whole point," says
Neary. "It's not outrageous. It can be discussed." Subjects such as
priestly celibacy and how Catholics define "menage a trois" come up
in Neary's work.
Although he says
he's "on the fence" with the original title, "Sex and
Catholics," the Lyric's producing artistic director Spiro Veloudos
"was kind of concerned," says Neary. "But he's probably right.
The (public's) reaction probably wouldn't have been right. We don't need that
kind of reaction."
And yet Neary
says the last leg of the play, called "Secrets," addresses "the
hot (church) issues right now." The play is pulled off, says Neary, who's
also directing, with "a cast from heaven": Ellen Colton, Cheryl
McMahon, Robert Saoud, Bobbie Steinbach, Lindsay Joy and Chris Loftus.
Neary directed
the Lyric's "Lend Me A Tenor" last season. The Clarendon Street
space, with its intimate stage and seats for just 244, suits him fine. "I
love it, it's great." Neary has staged his own adaptation of "A
Christmas Carol" at Worcester's Foothills Theatre, where he has also
directed six other plays including one of his own, "Jerry Finnegan's
Sister." His "First Night" was produced off-Broadway. It had a
two-month run at the West Side Theater. Then came a New York Times review.
"The Time's did (the play) in," says Neary. "Maybe (the critic)
had a bad night. Then he quit he paper two weeks later."
Neary's theater
life began on the boards. "I started out as an actor in college and
community theater. He earned a degree in acting from Smith College and later
ran a summer theater at Mount Holyoke. "I did a lot of directing before I
wrote anything," says Neary. "I feel comfortable directing my own
works."
Neary has about
a dozen plays "out there" that he's trying to get staged. He's
looking for the big breakthrough. Could "Beyond Belief" be the
ticket?
"Who the
hell knows," says Neary. But he adds, "I have a lot of faith in
audiences. They'll get it."
Neary is single.
"I'm too busy (to get married)," he says. He sees a lot of movies and
is "an inveterate Red Sox fan. I've lived and died with them since I was 9
years old."
Now he directs
his own plays, and lives or dies every opening night. Or at least until the
reviews come in.
Tickets for
"Beyond Belief," which runs Jan. 3 through Feb. 1, are $22-$38. The
Lyric Stage Company is located at 140 Clarendon St., Boston. Call 617-437-7172
for box office tickets Wednesday through Saturday noon to showtime. Tickets can
be also purchased online at www.lyricstage.com.