SOURCE: "Work in Progress," in Irish Literary Supplement, Vol. 13, No. 1, Spring 1994, pp. 17-18.

In the following review, Tracy considers the Dionysian motifs in Wonderful Tennessee and in some of Friel's other work.

A Donegal pier fills the stage left to right, one of those long stone piers, walled on the seaward side, that are common all along the Irish coast. On this pier's two levels, Friel's six characters in search of a meaning pass the time, from late afternoon until 7:30 a.m., waiting to be ferried to the island they cannot see clearly: "Oileán Drafochta … Island of Otherness. Island of Mystery."

Stephen Dedalus defined a pier as a disappointed bridge. Friel's play is about disappointment, non-fulfillment, both actual and symbolic. None of his characters reach the island. Each is a study in failure. Terry is a professional gambler who has lost his luck, and, near the play's...