Lawrence Garner - Playboy of The Western World

Storefront-circuit regulars will likely recognize Lawrence Garner—by sight, if not by name. Over the last twenty years, he's appeared as a wide array of characters, ranging from a windy British officer in the David Cromer-directed production of Translations, to a surly Arab in The Time of Your Life, to a vaguely-pedophile scientist in Frankenstein in Love, as well as, most recently, the scheming Salieri in Amadeus and the remorseful Father in Six Characters in Search of An Author.

Garner's duties in his current role of the irascible sire in Raven Theatre's production of The Playboy of the Western World include delivering a furious beat-down with a shillelagh held suspiciously like a...baseball bat? This curiosity is the result of fight designer David Woolley's discovery, upon querying his cast at the outset of rehearsals, that his "Old Mahon" had once been a semi-pro baseball player in Italy, of all places.

How did an alumnus of Francis Parker High School, who went on to get his Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University, come to find himself stealing bases in Florence?

"I did my undergraduate work at Stanford University so that I could study abroad in Barcelona." Garner recalls, "That program was dropped, however, so I went to Florence instead. I'd never even eaten pasta at home on Roscoe Street, but I didn't want to hang around with the other students, most of whom saw the whole trip as an opportunity to drink Chianti without being carded. Since I'd played baseball in high school, my spare time was largely spent with the Florentine team—this was the 1960s, when Americans were much valued in Italian baseball."

Garner returned to the United States in 1972 to teach political science at DePaul, but found himself drawn to theater following his song-and-dance turn in a "parent's show" at his daughter's school. After another parent declared "Well, you're obviously not an accountant!" and suggested that he sign up for classes at the Actor's Center, "it was off to the races with my theater career."

Chicago boasts an abundance of talented young actors, but skilled, well-trained mature non-equity actors are rare as diamonds—especially when they speak five languages and can do action scenes—but Garner is quick to deny that age earns him any special privilege. "Most non-equity companies nowadays select plays with an eye to featuring their own core ensemble, and those don't often encompass roles for older actors."

How does he feel about playing the role of an Ill-tempered, cudgel-flailing geezer who refuses to die, even after being murdered twice? "I feel it my duty as an actor to defend the integrity of every character I play," Garner confesses, "After guaranteeing Woolley full control of my swing—I can still beat the fastest batting cages at Sluggers Sports Bar—I became so confident that one night, 'Old Mahon' pushed himself too far and threw out his back." Garner grins sheepishly, "I didn't miss a performance, but when I returned with a pronounced limp, [director] Michael Menendian told me to keep it in."

Such stubborn resiliency points to Garner still having a few more hits in his batting arm. No swagger without scars, as the veteran swashbucklers say.

The Playboy of the Western World continues at Raven Theatre through April 5.