Connoly

By: Darryl Reilly

“I don’t care what happens next, as long as it’s better than this! Anything would be better than this!” says a suicidal young woman in playwright Stefan Diethelm’s haunting and wrenching contemporary American psychological drama Connoly.

This two-act play runs two hours and 15 minutes including an intermission. The early portions deceptively appear to be aimless, and exposition is scarce, but here as in Eugene O’Neill’s lengthy classics cathartic enlightenment awaits. Through his exquisite command of dramatic writing and polished everyday dialogue Mr. Diethelm satisfyingly ties up his play’s strands together with a searing 30-minute conclusion. Diethelm’s distinctive style, universal themes, and humanist concerns, are all reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman’s work. Then there is his treading the path paved by dramatist Marsha Norman in her 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘night, Mother; Connoly also has a troubled central figure rationally articulate the desire to kill themself.

22-year-old full-time worker Dingo regularly visits her late teen-aged sister Connoly in a mental health facility. Their widowed mother died a year ago and beset by personal demons Connoly attempted suicide soon after, she now cuts her arms whenever possible. Dingo brings Connoly a stuffed monkey doll as a present which she names Georgie. That is also the name of the seen imaginary figure Connoly converses and ruminates with. A benevolent nurse sometimes intervenes and offers counsel. That is the core of Diethelm’s simple scenario which he spins out with spellbinding momentum and shattering results. In addition, there is the exploration of the profound question of why a young person cannot get over their traumas and fitfully go on as most people do.

At the performance under review two swing performers appeared in the leading roles. Vivacious Alaina Bozarth palpably exudes melancholy as the despondent Connoly. With her expressive voice and beaming stage presence Ms. Bozarth totally conveys the character’s mood swings and contradictions while imparting aching realism. Veering from taciturn to animated, the spirited Madi Daning is thoroughly convincing as the frazzled Dingo. During her soaring turn Ms. Daning poignantly captures the essence of the familial caregiver tortured over nobility versus self-preservation. Bozarth and Daning’s intense rapport is integral to the production success. As the grounded nurse, the fiery though sunny Alessia Secli charismatically periodically pops up welcomely offering stability, optimism, and comfort. With elfin-style charm, spritely Emily Kendall Cohen is enchanting as the otherworldly Georgie.

Director Delaney “Lanes” May’s impressive physical staging contains measured pacing, precise placement of the cast, and visual élan. The all-white institutional décor is an ideal landscape to enact this tale. Cody Hom’s lighting design appropriately ranges from stark to dreamy, and his sound design crisply renders musical sequences and effects. The performance attended was efficiently overseen by stage manager Matthew Seepersad.

Connoly is a challenging and resonant theatrical take on difficult subject matter.

Connoly (through November 23, 2025)
Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, in Manhattan
For tickets, visit www.theaterforthenewcity.net
Running time: two hours and 15 minutes including one intermission