3 p.m. matinee
added Saturday

LEWISTON — The Public Theatre is sharing an enchanting Irish pot of gold in its current production of “Outside Mullingar.”

Four delightful performances put a must-see stamp on this heartwarming play. It takes place just a few years ago in rural Ireland, but the plot in which family ties win against extraordinary stubbornness is a time-honored Irish theme.

“Outside Mullingar” was a 2014 nominee for Best Play Tony Award on Broadway. It’s a faultless blend of language that’s poetry and music to the ear. It has a plot that’s bittersweet and true-to-life, and characters that will endure in memory.

Tony and Anthony, aging father and middle-aged son, are at odds about passing of the farm’s ownership. Tony, convinced that his son will never marry and the Riley name will not continue with the farm, is thinking of giving it to an American nephew.

The two men have returned from the funeral of the neighboring farm’s owner, and they have invited the deceased man’s wife and daughter to come in to their kitchen for an unaccustomed visit. Given the neighbors’ strained relationship through the years, it’s an inevitable opening for the subject of the gated strip of land owned by the neighbor that has deprived Tony of necessary road frontage.

With characteristic indirectness seasoned with sharp Irish wit and shrewdness, the men of one farm and the women of the other begin conversations of revelation and discovery.

Joel Leffert’s portrayal of a proud man in his declining years is a powerful depiction of obstinacy for its own sake. He bellows in defense of his perception of wrongs against him, and his son bears the brunt of his father’s dwindling support of his birth-right.

Stephen Wolfert plays Anthony, the steadfast son who is seeing the farm slip away. He delivers an exceptional performance in a multi-faceted role. From despair and anguish to pure Irish whimsy, he captures the audience’s attention from beginning to end.

Leffert has appeared at TPT as Rothko in “Red” and Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.”

Wolfert is making his debut on the TPT stage. He has strong acting and directing credits from Shakespeare in New York to Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas.

Kathy McCafferty makes her first appearance on the TPT stage as Rosemary, Anthony’s stubborn love interest. With appropriate sparks of Irish temperament, her inflexibility eventually adjusts to some essential compromises with Anthony.

Cecilia Riddett, also making her TPT debut, portrays Rosemary’s spunky mother. She proves to be a match for Tony’s cantankerous nature.

Christopher Schario’s direction brings an excellent balance of mood in this distinctive time and place with the beautiful speech of its people. The Irish proclivity for quips and pithy comebacks in all their conversations brings ample understated humor to this play.

“Outside Mullingar” was written by John Patrick Shanley. He wrote “Doubt,” which was a hit TPT production in its in its 2007-08 season.

The study guide prepared for TPT by Martin Andrucki, discusses Shanley’s immigrant Irish heritage. It says Shanley purposely avoided writing about Ireland throughout his successful career because he “didn’t want to be labeled an Irish-American writer.” A trip to the old country with his own aging father in 1993 was the catalyst for this play.

The setting for TPT’s production is the modest farmhouse kitchens of the two farms, and a small area outside a shed, which becomes kind of common ground for Anthony and Rosemary.

Remaining performances of “Outside Mullingar” at TPT are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, March 19 and 20; 8 p.m. Saturday, March 21; and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 22. There also is an added Saturday matinee at 3 p.m.

For tickets go online to www.thepublictheatre.org or call 782-3200. The Public Theatre is at located at 31 Maple St., Lewiston.