The Belle of Belfast: Theater review by Sandy MacDonald
It’s a sorry state of affairs when the nattering of a dotty old spinster (Patricia Conolly, sly) feels juicier than a simmering attraction between a foul-mouthed 17-year-old (Kate Lydic, vivid in a sketchy role) and her 35-year-old parish priest (Hamish Allan-Headley, oddly impassive).
Father Reilly tires of the elder Miss Malloy’s habit of confessing venial sins that wouldn't even be considered as such. The sexual shenanigans—or are they empty boasts?—of the young Miss Malloy (the self-styled “belle” of the title) strike him as more apropos and actionable. She is relentlessly provocative; he unusually accommodating. He goes so far as to offer counseling after-hours, when his rectory-mate (a reeling Billy Meleady) is too soused to serve as chaperone.
The teen’s fondness for telling lies affords a couple of narrative bumps, including a double whammy toward the end. But this stratum of the play feels like soap opera, condensed and warmed over; it’s nowhere near as heated as the priests’ thwarted yearning for “an Eire free” (the play is set in 1985). In Nate Rufus Edelman's half-baked script, the choicest morsels prove to be a dotard’s wishful peccadillos.—Sandy MacDonald
DR2 Theatre (Off Broadway). By Nate Rufus Edelman. Directed by Claudia Weill. With Hamish Allan-Headley, Patricia Conolly, Arielle Hoffman, Kate Lydic, Billy Meleady. Running time: 1hr 30mins. No intermission.