By Tyler Tidmore www.chicagostagestyle.com

Martin McDonagh begins his violent and dark comedy trilogy with the play that started it all, “The Beauty Queen of Leenane”.  Strong Irish backgrounds fill McDonagh's characters as they blacken out the sun with their astonishingly brilliant tales of lost love, hatred towards another, and the inability to accept one's fate.  “Beauty Queen” forces its mark upon American culture by showing a glimpse of what people are truly capable of.  Despite how they may appear, even a sweet innocent virgin girl can become a killer if given the right motivation.

Throughout the hillside of Connemara, common run down houses can be seen across the vast stretch of land.  Among those houses lives a 40 year old Irish woman named Maureen (Eileen Niccolai), along with her extremely needy mother Mag (Linda Reiter).  At first the two seem to have a comfortable living arrangement, despite the few minor arguments between the two.  A long lost friend from Maureen's past re-enters the picture after coming home from his travels in London, the two rekindle old flames and love manages to spark again.

With hopes of one day leaving her demanding mother Mag, Maureen dreams of running away with her love Pato (Joe Wiens).  Never stating the fact that Mag depends on daughter for care and comfort, she attempts to foil any chance of Maureen ever leaving her side.  Tensions rise when cruel deeds are discovered in which both Maureen and Mag are responsible for.  The ending result being nothing but catastrophic.

Eileen Niccolai along with her co-star Linda Reiter give breathtaking performances while representing the newly refurbished Shattered Globe Theatre company.  Starting their 19th season with “Beauty Queen”, Shattered Globe hopes to bring back the once loyal audience that was so dedicated to their cause.  An excellent piece is used to gain back the confidence of their viewers.  In my opinion after an impressive production such as this one, it would seem as if Shattered Globe never left.

“The Beauty Queen of Leenane” is an excellent play about being pushed to your limits by those you love.  Not your average play about the bond between mother and daughter, more like complete opposites, the line a daughter is willing to cross to ensure her mother is out of the picture.  Without a doubt considered to be one of Martin McDonagh's best, his voice behind Irish influence will go down in history as one of the best playwrights.  Shattered Globe Theatre does a great job bringing his masterpiece to life.  For more information on this show, please visit the Theatre In Chicago Beauty Queen of Leenane page.