A Dramatic and Direct Conversational ‘Approach’ That Will Linger Long in the Mind

How honest and self-aware are women in speaking with one another? To what extent do we, consciously or not, deceive even those closest to us, not to mention ourselves?The question isn’t exclusive to one sex, of course, but gender can, even today, impact the social dynamics and pressures at work in conversation and, thus, deception. In “The Approach,” a meticulously constructed one-act piece by Mark O’Rowe, a male playwright, three female characters are revealed to us, at least partly in spite of themselves, and the results are mesmerizing and haunting.“Approach” was introduced in Mr. O’Rowe’s native Dublin back in 2018, and was made available via livestream a few years later, during the pandemic. The new off-Broadway production, at Irish Repertory Theatre, marks its New York premiere, and director Conor Bagley has enlisted a trio of superb actresses to play Anna, Cora, and Denise, gals in early middle age who have known each other most or all their lives.Daniel Prosky’s simple, predominantly gray set consists of a table and a pair of chairs, as the characters appear two at a time. This is partly a reflection of how life has pulled them in different directions — exchanges frequently end with some variation on “We must get together more often” — though Anna and Denise, who are actually sisters, also have a falling out and are not communicating during their meetings with Cora.Cora and Anna turn up first, respectively played by Carmen M. Herlihy and Danielle Ryan. After an ominous reference to a girl they both knew in school who committed suicide, the two emerge as very different types, particularly when Cora asks about Denise. As Anna prattles on about how her sister betrayed her over a man, liberally inserting profanities, Cora listens patiently, if with obvious discomfort.Anna’s mood brightens when she begins detailing a new relationship, but then she pauses, feeling guilty. “You’ve just gone through something absolutely horrendous,” she tells Cora. That something, like several other obviously profound developments that will be referenced later, isn’t specified, but Cora reassures her friend: “Just because things haven’t gone great for me lately doesn’t mean you’re forbidden to talk about your life just because it’s going well now.”In the next scene, Cora meets up with Denise, played by Kate MacCluggage, and their discussion follows a similar pattern, with the latter expressing anger over what she perceives as Anna’s betrayal, then describing her newfound contentment as a wife and mother. By now it’s painfully clear that Cora’s own romantic life has been sparse; as she had with Anna, Cora speaks longingly of a period where the three of them, still very young, enjoyed their own camaraderie.As anecdotes and confessions are shared and sometimes repeated, different inconsistencies creep in; to call them flat-out lies would be, in most cases, not entirely fair, as many concern what these women feel, or want to feel, and how they wish to reveal themselves in a particular moment. Mr. O’Rowe slowly, expertly builds a sense of suspense and unease, leading to a final twist that plays out over two devastating scenes and seems sadly inevitable.Under Mr. Bagley’s sensitive, incisive guidance, all three performers mine their characters’ journeys with wit and compassion. Ms. Ryan’s Anna and Ms. MacCluggage’s Denise share a certain feisty elegance, but they’re also as credible as foils as they are as siblings: Anna seems more independent at first, almost defiantly so, though Ms. Ryan also beautifully conveys her vulnerability in the end.Ms. Herlihy’s Cora presents a sharp contrast to the others; soft-spoken, with a radiant smile, the actress manages to project both benevolence and pathos. Cora’s fate is never exactly spelled out, but that only makes the last chunk of the play’s 70 minutes more chilling. Despite its brevity, in fact, “The Approach” will linger in your thoughts and viscerally for longer than most other productions this season.

A Dramatic and Direct Conversational ‘Approach’ That Will Linger Long in the Mind

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