THEATRE REVIEW:
KPBS AIRDATE: September 02, 2005
It’s not a great week for onstage mothers. They may
appear in some interesting plays, but the characters are no paean to
maternalism.
Three plays – three destructive maters. By far the
strongest piece – both technically and dramatically – was “Munched,” which
premiered at the Fritz Blitz of New Plays by California Playwrights. San
Franciscan Kim Porter gave us an intriguing and harrowing tale about
Munchhausen syndrome by proxy, a psychiatric disorder that compels parents to
create, fabricate or induce disease and disability in their children – to get
attention for themselves. As Porter designed her, Marybeth may or may not be
guilty. As KPBS’ own Kathi Diamant played her, she’s a fascinating,
multi-faceted woman of intense emotions who says she’s been grossly
misunderstood. Katie, marvelously portrayed by Jeannine Marquie, is now 31 and
hasn’t seen her mother for 25 years, since Marybeth was hauled off to prison.
Under the expert, unfussy direction of Emily Cornelius, the tension builds and
our uncertainty grows. The performances were terrific, with outstanding support
by Monique Gaffney in a delicious array of roles, and Brian Taraz, as all the
fairly unsavory men who complete the puzzling and disturbing picture.
In “Flesh and Blood,” a semi-autobiographical
one-act by recent San Diego transplant Karen Paull, the birth mother is a
manic-depressive street-person and the adoptive mother is a selfish harridan.
Poor hapless Lisa is caught in-between, though she hasn’t seen her natural mom
since birth. But blood ties trump all. This Electra Theatre Company offering
was a sellout in San Francisco; director Karen Berthel favors an experimental,
Fellini-esque approach. Both play and production veer wildly from the didactic
to the surreal, the gut-wrenching to the absurd. Multiple realities co-exist,
and song and dance numbers punctuate or interrupt the action. It doesn’t always
work, but it’s an imaginative and promising effort, with a particularly
compelling performance by Leslie Gold as the wild-eyed and devoted bipolar
birth-mother.
In “The Day After Yesterday,” written and directed
by Kristina Meek, the mother has a dual role -- as demeaning matriarch and the
face of Fear in her daughter’s nightmares. At GB Productions, Summer Golden
overplays the maternal meddling but cackles amusingly as Fear itself. Kathleen
Massé and Robby Lyons are thoroughly believable as the workaholic daughter and
her slacker mate, who get caught in a time warp during a World Wide Day Off.
Stephanie Jackson is spot-on as a smarmily smiley TV host. The short play goes
on beyond a natural and potentially provocative end-point, and the long
blackouts and sluggish scene-changes unnecessarily extend the evening.
But these are three mother-daughter pairs that may
just keep you up at night.
©2005 Patté Productions
Inc.