What I liked
The characters were well defined and you almost never got confused who was talking and when. Joe moved seamlessly between characters by just subtly changing a few hand positions: Whitey was the hands on belt, Billy was playing with this ring, Mom was washing dishes and Dad only had one arm. This kept the flow of the show moving forward at a good pace. The emotion was awesome, and I was concerned you’d choke yourself to point where you actually passed out. The lighting was excellent and added to the emotional content of each scene.
The intimacy of the theater I thought added to the performance.
What I didn't like
I couldn’t understand many of the words to the song so I didn’t get the relevance of it. That might be a cultural thing since I’m not from Boston. I thought opening with the song was good, but thought it was too long before Joe entered the stage.
One part that was confusing was in the scene toward the end of the play where Billy is asking Whitey if he is a murderer. The scene is intense and Joe stopped using the belt and ring to signify who was talking so I was a times confused.
It ends somewhat abruptly and thought it could have a more definite ending somehow.
My overall impression
Bulger Boys is excellently written, acted and directed. Joe Coffey takes his acting to a new level in displaying raw emotion through the entire play. You are riveted from the very first line until the final line of the show. Coffey wrote the play and directs himself as he moves seamlessly between characters. There was not a moment when you are not engaged with the characters. If you haven’t seen Bulger Boys, you are in for a real treat.
