In the script for Ronán Noone’s one-man, one-act play “The Smuggler: A Thriller in Rhyme,” the playwright prefaces the action with several paragraphs of notes, most of them devoted to fleshing out its leading character, Tim Finnegan. Notably, “ringmaster” is the first word used to describe the Irish immigrant living in Massachusetts. “He likes to entertain,” Mr. Noone explains.

The actor playing Tim, in fact, is called on to channel 10 other characters — male and female, with varying backgrounds and accents — while shifting between three distinct rhythms: one for the “action sections” that propel the plot, another for the “expository sections,” and yet another for the “social commentary sections.” All of this must be done, as the title indicates, while speaking in verse and interacting with the audience.