By Dave Begel Contributing Writer Published Sep 21, 2014 at 3:16 PM

It took awhile to get there, but when the moment finally arrived, it was absolutely astounding and surprising.

Tim (Jonathan Wainwright) and Jane (Laura Gray) had lost a baby after seven months of pregnancy. The baby had died inside her. Watching Wainwright’s face, I found myself thinking that the two of these actors could have done "The Good Father" without any words, and it would have been just as powerful as it was with the full script.

"The Good Father," which opened over the weekend at the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre and runs through Oct. 12, was the first play by Irish playwright Christian O’Reilly, and it has rarely been produced in this country. But it’s a first rate story about a young couple and their year-long journey that carries them from the ultimate casual to the significantly meaningful.

Tim and Jane meet on New Year’s Eve. She is a recently jilted upper-class sexpot, and he is a hopelessly middle-class lecher who can’t take his eyes off her long legs. Both are drunk.

As the fates would have it, they have one night of spirited sex. A month goes by, a month during which he promised to call and didn’t. Finally she calls, and they meet. She drops the bomb that she is pregnant. It has to be yours, she tells him. Despite some scientific twists and turns, he comes to accept his impending fatherhood.

It’s a conflicting role for him, especially since his own father was the exact opposite of what good parenting is all about. Jane is determined to have the baby and to be a single parent. Tim is equally determined to become not only a good father but a husband to Jane.

I don’t want to reveal any of the secrets of this play, but the dance to the end between Wainwright and Gray, who are married to each other in real life, is full of sensitivity, emotion and rollicking good humor.

Gray is a formidable actor with a profound skill set. She can be a slinky slattern one minute, turn into a huddled mass of insecurity and then into an an angry and heroic emotional wreck. There is a placid beauty to her that draws you in slowly and then surprises you with quick and dangerous twists of the fates.

As he grows older, Wainwright is turning into one of my absolute favorite actors in Milwaukee. There is not much he can’t do, and much of it has to do with the physical.

It’s easy for an actor to memorize lines and say them, even with expression. But what’s hard is to let the audience see, truly see, the inside of the character. Wainwright has a face that shouts, "This is the truth, this is who I really am and this is how I really feel." It’s gripping to watch him on stage in a role like this, where he is comfortable in the different status and goals of these two semi-tortured souls.

Tim is a painter of houses, and watching him take the time to paint the bright yellow crib awaiting their baby, the pride and joy drip off him thicker than the drips of the paint. He has a task with this crib later in the play that will absolutely tear out your heart. And the entire scene is done without words.

I know that a play is about dialogue, and that a good play is about good dialogue. This play – under the direction of C. Michael Wright – has all of that, although it may not be the most original of stories.

But there are occasions when the entire play is written on the face and in the body of the actor. That’s the case with this play. If the sound suddenly stopped, the play would go on. 

Dave Begel Contributing Writer

With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.

He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.

This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.

Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.