Disarming pub comedy examines trivia pursuits

Watching the company's spirited U.S. premiere of Roddy Doyle's "War" makes you wish they didn't. Seanachai whose name (pronounced shawn-uh-kee) is Gaelic for "storyteller," has produced 14 shows (including its current production) in the 12 years since it was founded as a showcase for Irish theater and literature. By comparison, The Hypocrites and TimeLine Theatre, both of which begin their 11th seasons this fall, have produced 27 and 33 shows respectively. But if Seanachai continues to deliver shows as entertaining as Karen Kessler's snappy, playful production of Doyle's rollicking slice-of-life comedy about middle-class Dubliners battling each other in a high stakes trivia quiz, maybe the wait is worth it. Most of the action in this disarming comedy -- by Irish author Doyle ("The Van," "The Snapper," "The Commitments" and the award-winning "Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha") -- unfolds in set designer John L. Stark's working-class pub where the regulars vie for more than a trivia title, and where the stakes (pride, attention and self-respect) are higher than anyone cares to admit. "War's" comedy comes from the pub, but the heart of this play reveals itself in the flashbacks that take place in the modest kitchen the sporadically employed George (Michael Grant) shares with his smart, sympathetic wife Briget (Sarah Wellington whose spot-on performance is one of the best things about the show). Grant is convincing as the willful, quick-tempered George, a man desperate for a win that will bolster his sagging self-esteem. He heads up a team consisting of dyspeptic Martin (a comically morose Steve Walker); loyal Features (Frank Nall) and the hapless Gary (Bobby Richards) whose drunken stupor makes him supremely unhelpful.George's arch rival is Bertie (John Dunleavy), an overconfident quiz wiz who favors loud Hawaiian shirts and peppers his conversation with Spanish phrases. His team includes the childlike Tommy (an endearing Kelly Cooper), the divorced Angela (Barbara Figgins) who has her eye on taciturn bartender Leo (Larry Horgen) and wanna-be rocker Noel (Jeff Christian) who sports dark shades, torn jeans and an unbuttoned shirt. Lastly there's a twentysomething quartet (whose interest wanes with every cocktail they consume) made up of George's daughter Yvonne (Helen Sadler); her blowsy friend Lorraine (Tori Ulrich); unsuspecting Niamh (Anne Sunseri), who Yvonne insults for sport, and Dermot (Nicholas Cimino), Niamh's clueless boyfriend and the object of the girls attention. Rounding out the cast is Robert Kauzlaric, nicely fussy as the nerdy, nervous Denis who presides over the contest, and Kathy Logelin, endearingly clumsy as the harried waitress Sandra who keeps the Guiness coming. "War"3 1/2 starsout of fourLocation: Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St., Chicago Times: 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 7 Running time: About two hours, including intermissionTickets: $20, $15Box office: (312) 742-8497 or www.seanachai.orgRating: For teens and olderSeanachai Theatre Company keeps a low profile.