Penguin Repertory in Stony Point has Another Winner with “Last Days of Mickey and Jean”

Four Star Review!!

BY GEORGE J. DACRE

In “The Last Days of Mickey and Jean,” a play inspired by actual events, playwright Richard Dresser in collaboration with director Joe Brancato, have created a mystery thriller and comedy at the same time. It’s a production that excels in set design and presentation, with three performers, all of outstanding cailber and theatre background; Sarah McCafrey, Thomas G. Waites and Robert Ross.

This story of the Boston mobster Mickey (Waites) on the lam in Paris with his longtime girlfriend Jean (McCafrey) and the appearance of a mysterious stranger (Ross) takes a real life drama that is going on right now with the trial of Boston mobster, James “Whitey” Bulger.

The real life case goes to court in March of 2013 in Boston where Bulger faces 19 charges of murder. The play makes the story into a realistic theater piece that has the audience enthralled and laughing a lot all the way. McCafrey is a very funny and beautiful lady and has great chemistry with co-stars Waites and Ross.

Being on the lam causes a lot of problems for Mickey and Jean and they play them out in a Paris apartment. The situation gets more intense as Bobby comes on the scene, meeting Jean in a Paris Cafe and urging her to run away with him and turn in Mickey for
a $2 million ransom.

Take this basic plot and develop it with many twists and turns and you have a very interesting night of theatre. I am not going into all the details herein as the enjoyment of this production is watching all the developments and then trying to figure it all out with a very intense ending.

Waites and McAfrey bring the roles of Mickey and Jean to life and Ross who turns out to be “___?____” (I’m not telling) a very integral piece of the drama. How much of it is for real and how much is Dresser’s fantasy is hard to tell but it is intriguing and won’t it be interesting when the real “Mickey,” Whitey Bulger, goes on trial.

What a story. Maybe the Rockland County Times will send me to Boston to cover it.

I urge you to catch “The Last Days Of Mickey and Jean” at Rocklands professional theatre Penguin Repertory in Stony Point. I rate it ”Four Stars Out of Four!!!!”

Tickets at Penguinrep.com or (845) 786-2873.

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