A Mere ‘Shadow’ of What Would Come

Didacticism is an honest playwright’s failing. In “The Shadow of a Gunman,” his first produced play (1923), Sean O’Casey displays the belabored intensity of an apprentice who has not yet mastered his craft--and only faint echoes of the genius he will yet acquire.

Unfortunately, Tim O’Hare’s ready yet rough staging of the play at the Colony fatally emphasizes the tongue-in-cheek, further muting O’Casey’s intrinsic humanism. More than any playwright, O’Casey captured the rank stew of Dublin street life, a swirling human comedy set against a backdrop of brutal political oppression. O’Casey’s delicate blend of humor and horror never successfully melds here, partly due to the playwright’s inexperience, but also because many in the cast skim the top of the stereotype, overplaying the ludicrous and losing much of their characters’ pitiable grandiosity in the process.

Exceptions are Marnie Andrews as the gossipy Mrs. Grigson, who collapses in genuine grief when disaster strikes home, and Maura Knowles, as likely a colleen as ever trod the boards, who plays Minnie Powell, a sprightly chit martyred in the sweep of events.

The set and lighting are holdovers from “The Living,” the Colony’s current main-stage show, but Michael A. Thayer’s lighting adaptation seems tailor-made for this production.

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* “The Shadow of a Gunman,” Colony Studio Theatre, 1944 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles. Sundays, 7 p.m.; Tuesdays-Wednesdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 p.m. Ends April 3. $10. (323) 665-3011. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.