By Kimberly Rau
Warwick’s Gamm Theater opens this season with Ronán Noone’s “The Smuggler,” a fantastic one-man show that offers a fast-paced, often quite funny, exploration of the human condition.
Meet Tim Finnegan, an Irish American who’s struggling to make it as a writer and take care of his family. His wife thinks he spends too much time at the bar. His police officer brother-in-law thinks he’s lazy and wasting his time, and sets him up with a house-painting gig that guarantees a paycheck as long as he shows up to work.
That would be the end of the story, probably, except Finnegan finds a way to make far more money in a week than he ever could painting houses (or being a writer). It’s illegal, of course. Worse, it’s unethical, and it puts an entire immigrant population at risk. But with family pressures mounting, Finnegan gives in in the hopes of creating a better life for his son.
Told in one act in just over an hour, “The Smuggler” does not attempt to paint a rosy picture of our antihero’s actions. Even Finnegan knows what he’s doing is wrong. But, he explains, at a certain point, there’s no going back. Every time he thinks he’s gotten ahead, something pulls him right back to the bottom. And hitting rock bottom has a way of making people do desperate things.
Author Noone also directed the show, which means audiences are going to get an interpretation of the work that’s as close to the original intent as anyone could want. And Tony Estrella does an exceptional job playing Finnegan. The main setting is an Irish pub on the fictitious wealthy island of Amity, Massachusetts, and Estrella makes good use of the bottles on the shelf behind him, offering the front row (non-alcoholic) drinks throughout the play. He addresses the audience as though everyone were an old friend. Estrella does not try to paint Finnegan as hero or villain, he tells the story as naturally as if it were his own recollection and lets you make of it what you will. This is how he got here. This is how it is. This is what life does to you.
Anyone who’s seen Estrella on stage knows he’s a strong actor with a wide range, but there’s something particularly impressive about watching one man deliver what is essentially an 80-minute monologue with little stopping. There are some very brief interludes, but there are no other actors. When Finnegan must argue with someone, Estrella is that person as well, for a total of some 12 different personalities. The fact that the play is in subtle verse is probably some help, but this is an impressive undertaking that deserves accolade.
Above all, “The Smuggler” is a powerful thought experiment. Some people are staunchly good. Some are evil. Most of us want to do the right thing and find ourselves making hard choices, and some are willing to compartmentalize their morality in order to try and stay afloat. Whichever you are, this play will force you to examine your own moral compass. Point your car’s actual compass toward Warwick and catch this before it closes.
“The Smuggler” runs through Oct. 11, 2026, at The Gamm Theatre, 1245 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick. Tickets may be obtained at the box office, online at gammtheatre.org or by calling 401.723.4266.
