CHOPIN’s plaintive melodies form the perfect soundtrack for “Aris tocrats,” Brian Friel’s elegiac 1979 drama about the failing fortunes of a once proud, upper-class Irish clan.
The play is set at the rapidly decaying estate of the O’Donnell family, where all have gathered for the impending wedding of youngest daughter Claire (Laura Odeh). But much like the family’s fortunes, what begins as a celebration eventually turns into a darker occasion.
Claire’s siblings include her alcoholic sister Alice (Orlagh Cassidy), who retreated to London with her husband Eamon (Ciaran O’Reilly) years earlier, and her wild-haired brother Casimir (John Keating), who may or may not have a wife and kids in Germany.
But the dominant figure is the family’s unseen dying patriarch (Geddeth Smith), whose increasingly addled voice is repeatedly heard through an intercom.
Also on hand is Willie (Sean Gormley), a lower-class neighbor who is devoted to the family, and – in the play’s most hackneyed device – Tom (Rufus Collins), an American author interviewing the clan for a book about the decline of the Irish aristocracy.
Some patience is required to appreciate the low-key plotting and often rambling dialogue. But Friel’s gift for language is obvious here, especially in the fanciful anecdotes about the family home once being visited by the likes of O’Casey and Yeats.
Director Charlotte Moore makes good use of the Rep’s limited playing area. She has also elicited fine work from the ensemble – particularly Keating, who lends a compelling air of eccentricity to the loquacious Casimir.
ARISTOCRATS Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 W. 22nd St.; 212-727-2737. Through March 29.