From left: Braden Socia, Devon Rose, Rhonda Rose and Joey Folsom as the cast of ‘Look Back in Anger’ by The Classics Theatre Project. (Courtesy photo)

There is a lot of anger in The Classics Theatre Project production of Look Back in Anger. The John Osborne play focuses on a 30-something-ish couple Jimmy (TCTP’s artistic director Joey Folsom) and Alison (Devon Rose) in 1950s England. They live a fairly bleak existence with his friend Cliff (Braden Socia)  in a stodgy apartment. The dynamics are muddled with Jimmy as the self-proclaimed intellectual, Alison as his suffering wife and Cliff who seems to have put himself in the middle with clear affection for her and his loyalty to his friend.

The show heads into its closing weekend at the Margo Jones Theater in the Magnolia Lounge at Fair Park.

Although an ensemble piece, Folsom leads the cast as Jimmy, the angry young man, a term often associated at the time with a group of working and/or middle-class British playwrights and novelists such as Osborne in postwar England. Folsom dove deep into Jimmy with a perpetual anger that was easily ignited by those closest to him. He delivered an unsettling performance making Jimmy extremely unlikable and unsympathetic.

Folsom gave Jimmy layers albeit with understatement. The character had moments of tenderness but were often suffocated by his temperament. This was quite a role to navigate with such nuance but Folsom handled it with expertise. We may never like Jimmy, but you can’t deny Folsom’s performance.

In contrast, Rose’s performance counterbalanced by applying a distinct meekness to Alison that helped display the couple’s unequal power dynamic, but the character’s frustration lacked a certain urgency by Rose when the character has her epiphany about the situation she’s in. She has one delicate  scene with Frances Henry who plays Alison’s father.

Socia’s Cliff was closest to being the heart of the play. Even-tempered with a sense of humor and play, Cliff seemed to find happiness in the mundane or the depressing. Socia gave Cliff an aplomb gentleness that mostly stayed intact amid the tension at home until he’s had enough.

Dynamics change when Alison’s friend Helena (Rhonda Rose) comes for an extended stay to support Alison’s physical predicament. Jimmy is not a fan of Helena and they argue and fight in front of the other two. When Alison leaves, Helena stays which turns into a surprising new dynamic for the new trio.

Rose’s performance was a revelation and as the initial disruptor, she shook up everything from the get-go for the cast and audience. The character’s emotional strength brought a gravitas to the story where the other characters never felt like they knew who they were or should be. Rose navigated a strong performance that began with a defensive power and moved into emotional heartache.

Directed by Jackie Kemp, Look Back in Anger itself was heavy with dialogue impressively delivered by the entire cast. But the story never invites a certain empathy toward its characters save for maybe Cliff. Osborne explored the feelings of frustrations of the time, but it was hard to care about any of the characters by the end. Instead, the post-show feelings were a mixture of amazement by the cast’s talent with a bit of an emotional drain — which very well may have been the playwright’s intention. He was angry after all.

Look Back in Anger runs through Saturday.

— Rich Lopez