Frank's 'Ironbound' illuminates an immigrant's journey

Photo by Tony Nelson

It really isn’t a surprise that a key moment in Martyna Majok’s New-Jersey-set Ironbound turns on a Bruce Springsteen song. Like the best of the Boss’ songs, these characters live on the margins as they suffer defeats, win victories, and struggle to keep moving on.

Ironbound, making its regional premiere from Frank Theatre, centers on Darya, a Polish immigrant who has been in the States for decades and is struggling to hold on. Her son has stolen her car and disappeared. The factory where she worked has long been closed and Darya makes ends meet by housecleaning. And her boyfriend, Tommy, has been unfaithful for some time.

That’s the plot, but the play really turns on Darya’s character. Complex and contradictory, Darya above all is trying to survive in a tough world. That has made her a hustler, playing every advantage she can find to stay a step ahead. That means tapping her boyfriend’s phone to find out he’s been unfaithful, and then holding onto that information where she hopes to trade it for the cash to get a car, and go chase after her son.

As the play unfolds, we discover more and more nuances of Darya’s character. Two long flashback scenes take us back to the early 1990s and the mid-2000s. In one, she is somewhat happy with husband Maks, a fellow Polish immigrant who dreams of moving from Newark to Chicago, and become a blues star. This dream is driving a wedge between them, as Darya doesn’t want to give up the relative stability they have forged. That she is sure that she is pregnant only intensifies that feeling.

In the 2000s, we find her at a low point, about to sleep rough on the grounds of the now-closed factory after her second husband has beat her to the point she needed to get out of the house. Here, she meets Vic, a teenager trying for a late-night hustle, who instantly becomes concerned with the battered woman at the bus stop.

All of this allows us to see Darya’s complexities, and that is the real power of the show. The production turns on a terrific performance by Brittany D. Parker in that role, as she brings all the different layers of Darya to life. While the three men we meet are supporting roles, each performance is also solid, especially Benjamin Dutcher as her musical, lost first love, Maks.

As with any Frank show, the entire production is rock solid, especially Joe Stanley’s grungy set, which brings this broken-down corner of Newark to life (well, minus the rats). Wendy Knox directs with her usual unflinching insight, helping to bring these intriguing characters to fully realized being.

After a long three-plus year layoff, Frank has come roaring back, first with Fetal last fall (that production is scheduled to return) and now Ironbound. Hopefully this energy continues, as a theater scene with Frank is a much better one.

Ironbound runs through Feb. 11 at Gremlin Theatre.