ACTORS REPERTORY THEATER'S INAUGURAL PRODUCTION OF 'NIGHT, MOTHER IS PROFOUND AND POWERFUL
Theater Babe Says: Don't Miss It!
Every now and then, a performance takes the audience on a captivating journey through a broad spectrum of human emotion and leaves us breathless. A.R.T.'s production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, 'night, Mother, succeeds in doing just that.
Written by Marsha Norman, 'night, Mother tells the harrowing story of a woman's decision to kill herself, and her mother's attempts to avert the tragedy. In the process, the women uncover previously unexplored truths about each other and their relationships and come to understand each other better than ever before.
In this production, director Philip Odango wisely selected two equally talented actors who match each other in depth and intensity. As Jesse, the daughter who makes the fateful decision, Anna Sosa is exquisitely complicated and contradictory: oddly detached, but fiercely determined ... selfish, but almost obsessively attentive to her mother's needs ... ruthlessly organized and capable, but so mired in self-doubt and despair that she is convinced of her own worthlessness. The Theater Babe only wishes that Ms. Sosa would cheat her face ever-so-slightly more to the audience; she skillfully conveys much of Jesse's emotion through her eyes and we want to see it better than we can when she stands in complete profile.
Eileen P. Quintin likewise delivers a layered, thoughtful performance as Thelma, a simple, isolated country woman who habitually uses superficial chatter and other distractions to deflect any real intimacy, only to come face-to-face with the consequences of holding everyone at a distance. She is perhaps younger and more agile than the script envisions, but those traits become negligible as we are drawn ever more fully into her extraordinary performance. Ms. Quintin's monologues, in which she takes full advantage of the unique husky timbre of her speaking voice, are astounding and we ache for Thelma even as we recognize the role she played in creating the crisis.
The play begins with simple dialogue. The tone is purposefully flat and ordinary. Even after Jesse announces that she intends to commit suicide that very night, we, like Thelma, don't take the threat seriously. Ms. Quintin's Thelma is brusque, impatient with what she views as Jesse's nonsense and her attitude is so compelling and pervasive – and Jesse's proclamation is so dispassionate – that we agree with Thelma, and completely miss the steely determination that is the core of Ms. Sosa's depiction of Jesse.
The tone becomes diametrically dark in a single instant. After Jesse informs Thelma of her fatal intention, Thelma trivializes the remark, and tells Jesse that she's obviously not going to kill herself right before her birthday because then she won't know what gifts everyone got her. Ms. Sosa's delivery of Jesse's response is spot on and devastating but, even more, Ms. Quintin's wordless reaction is mesmerizing. From that moment, everything changes. The tension escalates, there is an urgency that was purposefully lacking during the initial scene, and the stunning performances of Ms. Sosa and Ms. Quintin grip us by the throat and drag us into their frustratingly dysfunctional but not entirely unfamiliar world of missed opportunities and thwarted hopes. Because while few of us have been driven to the depths so poignantly dramatized here, common themes intertwined throughout the production make us uncomfortably aware that we too can be guilty of demonstrating the unintentional thoughtlessness toward others that is the foundation of their story.
The collaboration between the actors and Mr. Odango is seamless. Mr. Odango's direction makes effective use of the unconventional set and his instruction coupled with the actors' own instincts shrewdly permit the drama to repeatedly crest and fall – a smart choice, since the difficult subject matter and the intensity with which it is presented would cause the audience to tune out if it were not periodically alleviated by moderation and humor. Incongruous as it seems, there are some truly funny lines scattered through the play that are well-delivered here by each actor. The audience's reaction is muted, however, and the Theater Babe suspects that the actors will seldom receive anything more blatant because they so successfully envelop us in their acute crisis that it takes a moment for the quip to register. We care about the characters crafted by Ms. Quintin and Ms. Sosa – and they so adroitly maintain the tension that we never forget the serious question at the heart of the drama – so it seems almost disrespectful to laugh.
'night, Mother was first performed professionally in 1983, but it was written two years earlier. Mr. Odango chooses to set this production in the present day, which occasionally causes a mild disconnect. There are a few dated references in the script itself, but moreover the credibility of Jesse's plight is compromised somewhat by the technological advances that have occurred in the intervening thirty years. Today, the advent of the internet, online courses and teleworking give someone in Jesse's position varied opportunities to lead a productive, meaningful life despite the restrictions imposed by her condition. Setting this play in the twenty-first century lends a dimension of self-pity to Jesse that is perhaps unintended by the playwright; in 2012, Jesse chooses to eschew those opportunities, whereas in 1983 those opportunities simply did not exist. The disconnect is only marginally distracting, however, and does not diminish the power of the overall performance. This show is apparently the first production ever presented by the Actors Repertory Theater, and the Theater Babe can only hope it is representative of the quality of work the company intends to produce in the future.
Bottom line? 'night, Mother is a heavy drama and this production does not shy away from its portent. It is not a fun evening of theatre, but it is magical. Make the time and buy a ticket for this remarkable production.
Performances run thru September 23rd
Friday – Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
at The Venue on 35th
Tickets are $15. Reservations can be obtained
by calling The Venue at (757) 469-0337.
© 2012 Hampton Roads Theater Babe. All Rights Reserved.
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