'Outside Mullingar' charms in ATC production

The rain is relentless.

Death is always on the mind.

And, yes, the humor just keeps rolling.

John Patrick Shanley’s “Outside Mullingar” reeks of Ireland and the Irish.

And the Arizona Theatre Company’s production of the play reeks of charm.

This is ATC artistic director David Ivers’ directing debut for the company. It’s a smashing one: beautifully cast, packed with a rhythmic pace and atmosphere.

“Outside Mullingar” centers on two neighboring farms and their occupants. Tony Reilly (John Hutton) is near death — truly, the Irish always think they are near death; it’s in our DNA — and he doubts his socially awkward, middle-aged son, Anthony (Larry Bull), is suited to take over the farm. Rosemary (Cassandra Bissell), who lives next door with her mother (Robynn Rodriguez), wildly disagrees. Plus she’s exasperated with Anthony for not standing up for himself. She and Anthony, both of whom have never married, seem to genuinely dislike each other.

We know where this is going a few minutes into the play.

But who cares? The journey getting to the expected end is sweet and funny. It’s a tad sentimental, too — another indicator of its Irishness.

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Shanley, who wrote “Doubt” and the movie “Moonstruck,” is almost Neil Simon-esque with his knack for punchy one-liners. While this script is lighter, much lighter, than “Doubt,” it quickly embraces the audience with raw and real characters.

This cast shimmied into the skin of those characters. They sucked us into the kitchens in the farmhouses and into the lives of these sometimes cruel, sometimes tender people.

Bull’s Anthony is a ponderer, keeping his emotions in check as his interior dialogues try to sort his feelings and his fears. When words fail him, we can read his face and body. Hutton, as the father, is cruel and careless with his son. But when the time is right, he opens his arms and heart to Anthony.

Rodriguez’s Aoife, Rosemary’s mother, has just buried her husband and is prone to unexpected bouts of tears. The banter between Aoife and Tony is swift and funny and dripping with accusations and admiration. It was grand fun to watch .

Rosemary has pined for Anthony all her life. But she is not the swooning type. She, too, has an acid tongue and knows how to use it. Bissell’s fierceness was perfect.

The sets by Scott Davis switched from one farm kitchen to another and the land outside . They brought you right to the Irish countryside. And the lighting by Xavier Pierce was dramatic and contemplative .

It’s impossible to see this play and not feel buoyed by it, touched by it and seduced by it.

This is the only play Ivers chose for this season (he came on last summer; his first full season selecting plays will be 2018-19). It bodes well not only for his taste in theatrical literature, but for his keen directing eye.

If “Outside” is any indication, theater lovers are in for some scrumptious moments.