'Decent, Ordinary Criminals' Touches on Lost Souls

By Erin Elizabeth Wichtoski

Mike Neville loves Milwaukee...so much so that he abandoned prosperity and fame in New York City, the be-all end-all for a playwright. However, his journey to and fro was done in the name of education and family. This is a man of valiant priorities and honor whose most recent work, Decent Ordinary Criminals, was recently performed at Milwaukee's Walker Arts Center.

The play delves into the souls of two petty thugs in Northern Ireland caught up in a money-raising scam devised by a visiting American. The outsider manipulates the pair into being personalities they don't wish to become. How they deal with this makeover forms the basis of the plot.

Neville is no stranger to trodding the boards, writing or producing. After graduating in 1968 from Marquette University with a bachelor's degree in journalism, he was also awarded at Schubert fellowship in playwriting.

That was his initial pull to the Big Apple. Then, after earning a masters from Columbia University, writing three adaptations for Broadway productions and working as a writer for the daytime drama series, Ryan's Hope, you'd think he was sold. His works have also been produced by ACT Seattle, the Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Manhattan Theatre Club.

But the more important things in life drew him back to Milwaukee. "My family...my family was so generous to me," he recalls. Neville speaks slowly and considerately about them as the sound of appliances being moved are heard in the background during a phone chat. He recently purchased the home in which he was raised, perhaps as a "thank-you" to all those long-ago Irish relatives. 

Neville, an confirmed animal lover, lives there with his dogs...one of which is a dachshund he rescued after it had been cooped up in a crate for two years. Another dog was taken in when its former owner was too ill to care for it. He admits he spoils the dogs rotten and can't stand to see animals suffering.

Returns to Beer City 
Upon returning to Beer City in 1988, Neville went back where he got his start: the late, lamented Melody Top Theater on Good Hope Road. He said he was disappointed to see how the theater had changed during his absence and how it eventually became defunct. 

With the advent of the Professional Theater Training Program (PTTP) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the expansive growth of theater outlets in the city, Neville believes that Milwaukee is home to some of the country's finest actors and actresses. They are willing to bleed for their work, he indicated, emphasizing how grateful he is to these hardworking professionals. "They are truly the greatest talents I've seen or worked with," he exclaims. 

 Milwaukee has so much to offer playwrights, performers and the entire range of support theatrical staff that makes writing easier, working easier and production easier.

He boasted, "One of the best things about living in Milwaukee, besides affordable housing, is that you give actors and actresses a little bit of freedom and they pay you back so generously with their performance." Neville's long-running annual festival of 10-minute plays regularly taps into that talent pool.

It was only one year ago when Neville began penning the lines for what became Decent Ordinary Criminals. However, the play got its real start years ago, when the playwright spent a year living in Belfast. 

Meets Gay Burglar 
While there, he became acquainted with a man who would "become" the intriguing main, character to his new production. "Frenchy was a gay hotel burglar," Neville explained. To give some added notoriety for the play's sake, Frenchy is also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the playwright explained. "This is the premise for a play that discovers friendship, love and commitment to human spirit," Neville now points out. 

Consistent with his usual writing process,Decent Ordinary Criminals was created from such a plot. Neville worked the scenes and lines out of the conflict, thinking of compromising situations in which Frenchy might find himself.
 He says he continually uses these instances of discord to create plot, mentioning that for a playwright, "working from plot is like the black belt of writing." According to Neville, it takes a lot of practice, by writing piece after piece.

Neville weaves a great deal of Irish history and current events throughout Decent Ordinary Criminals. He's considering amending the piece for later productions. Neville wants his audience to get as much as they possible can out of this play. But at times, he admits, the nuances of Irish culture may not be clear to some people. 

For instance, he said, "Figures such as Northern Ireland unionist leader Ian Paisley may not trigger the same emotional response from Americans as would an Irish audience."

However, Neville retains a definite love affair with his Irishness. One summer during the loyalist parade season in Derry, Neville had a few pints with John Hume, leader of Northern Ireland's Social Democratic Labor Party and co-winner of the 1998 Noble Peace Prize. "He talked about his differences and arguments with the IRA, the unionists and the many of other political and military factions in Northern Ireland," Neville said. "But mostly he talked about music and the spiritual benefits of a good, rowdy party. When we parted, John told me to 'be good, but if can't be good, be good at it," he recalled. 

Drops False Teeth 
"Recently, John was in the news for getting so riled up at a news conference that his false teeth dropped out. This play is for him," Neville added. 

Another aspect of Decent Ordinary Criminals that may experience some change is the development of the Frenchy's character, since audiences have been interested in learning more about him as the play progresses. Frenchy, played by actor Jonathan Wainright, and his buddy Jack Rockett (portrayed by Ted Tyson), are nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize because of their supposed support of interdenominational dialog at a local bar. American P.J. O'Sullivan (Bill Clifford) has set up the scam in order to skim off donations that flood into the place. 

Neville acknowledges that "exposition is always a problem. People actually say this play runs a little short, they want to know more about the central character [Frenchy]."

Yes, it was a surprise for Neville to hear that audiences were looking for more, not less running time. In an era of hurry up and go, the playwright says that people have been asking for more and trying to acquire more on Frenchy. When the production debuted in Milwaukee this past autumn, it consisted of two acts of about 40 minutes or so each.

Discusses Motivations 
Neville doesn't even pause when he talks about motivations and other aspects of his writing process. He says he starts with characters that he can't tire of. They aren't just interesting folks, but characters he cannot get enough of. "They have to absolutely fascinate me," he emphasizes. Plot development takes it from there. These are also factors that Neville emphasizes in playwriting classes he occasionally teaches for the University of Wisconsin Extension.

Neville's voice doesn't waiver when he is honest about admitting a major motivational factor. He says "finding the money" truly is a incentive. With cash in hand, he says, a play will follow. Neville also finds music a stimulus for his writing, in addition to being a good escape. He has eclectic tastes, affected by pre-Beatles era rhythm and blues, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and even some fellow performers on Hotel Milwaukee, an old-time style radio show with a contemporary twist produced weekly by the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design

Neville regularly appears on the award-winning program, taped live at 5 p.m., Sundays, in the Eisner Museum of Advertising in Milwaukee. The show is then aired the following week by Wisconsin Public Radio 90.7 FM and can also be heard around the country and in Canada. He often is heard as the voice of older folks, Eastern Europeans and female characters. Sometimes there's even a combination of all three.

When talking about his Playwright's Theatre, which he founded in 1988 — Neville's voice rises animatedly, discussing how he doesn't have typical play season as do other local companies but that presents pieces throughout the year. Neville affirms that his troupe will never put on an old-standby,with guaranteed success and with actors and actresses who may already know their lines. "We're a new play company," he says proudly. As such, Playwright's produced Decent Ordinary Criminals .
 When asked about Decent Ordinary Criminals and its future, Neville's voice booms, "This play is going to have a life." A stint in New York in the spring of 2002 is in the offing, he hinted. What's even more encouraging is the fact that Playwright's Theatre is not adverse to change, according to Neville. Anything that will positively affect the play is a possibility, he indicated. Morphing into what works for the plays and for the audience is among the many benefits of producing new works.

That's what makes a play.