The Guthrie’s production of Brian Friel’s The Faith Healer is getting a considerable amount of attention in the local press because it marks Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling’s first appearance on-stage in several decades. Dowling brings an understated charm to the titular role of Frank Hardy, an itinerant faith healer who travels through the small villages of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland with his jovial manager and beaten-down wife. The play is told in a series of monologues by each of the three characters as they recount their own versions of the events leading up to a tragic incident in a remote Irish hamlet.
My attention on the play didn’t really focus on the play until the second monologue, which is told by Frank’s wife Grace. Sally Wingert is absolutely captivating in the role, imbuing the character with a searing anguish that is almost too overwhelming to watch. From there, the play finds its way to a conclusion that is sudden yet expected.
The play is worth seeing for the textured performances and the darkly poetic language. I’m not sure that Dowling is a great actor, but he picked a great play with which to make his return to acting.
