Tom Williams

We find out the story as the seven characters weave facts with opinions clouded in personal bias. Deborah Staples is so convincing as each character that we easily “see” each. From the vengeful redhead to the manipulative neighbor to the slob husband to the innocent four-year old boy and onward to the butch doctor to the old lady, Deborah Staples quickly, before our eyes, becomes each in a remarkable truthful transformation. This is tour de force acting if there ever was any!

We learn the earth’s population at key times as well as markings of key scientific breakthroughs such as the invention of agriculture, fire and/nor crude implements that allowed man to manipulate his environment. As time goes backward, we see how insignificant man real is in the scope of hundreds of million years the earth and ultimately the universe have existed.

We see how such news and the guys inability to help Pearson gets them focused less on themselves and more on common goals. Loyalty and true friendship leads to Bruce Pearson having his last days spent in total acceptance and some glory from his teammates. Devoids of sentimentality, Bang The Drum Slowly, plays out as an uplifting story of how friendship and loyalty can make life worth living and acceptance of one’s fate can liberate the soul. This is a heartwarming story that covers much more than baseball – it’s about how awkwardly we deal with death and how the basic goodness of an individual can inspire at team.

The characters here are colorful, eccentric and so Irish. From Mammy (Kathleen Ruhl) Johnnypateenmike’s 90 year old drunken mother – to Kate who talks to a stone -to cruel Helen who enjoys breaking eggs over her brother’s head -to Billy who has to endure the savage jokes and nasty name calling–all are struggling to escape the boredom of rural life. Josh Salt’s empathetic Cripple Billy and Brian Parry’s hilarious turn as the town gossip are the featured performances among the fine ensemble work contained here.