Review: Mother Courage Drags Her Cart... and the House

If there's a commonality shared by the Thirty Years War and the Bay Area revival of Mother Courage, it's tedium.

Berkeley Rep made a courageous choice to open its season with a dry reproduction of Bertolt Brecht's commentary on the economics of war, dragging a heavy cart of wares to sell and audiences to sleep.

Brecht never meant to evoke empathy for his title character, but he didn't ask for disinterest either.  The first few scenes are splattered with ironies of war and life.  But within a few minutes, one only feels obligated to laugh, desperate for a moment to feel engaged.

Ivonne Coll as the title character, delves bull-headedly into her role as a business woman grappling for a sale.  Yet, the moments where she exhibits protective maternity for her children in a war-torn landscape are dashed too quickly for any actor-spectator connectivity.

Literally pulling Mother Courage (and Coll) through the play are her children, Eilif (Justin Leath), Swiss Cheese (Drew Hirschfield), and Kattrin (Katie Huard).  Though early-on we are told each will face a tragic demise, we do learn some of Brecht's little lessons through their suffering.

Directed by Obie Award-winner, Lisa Peterson, Mother Courage features a new score by Gina Leishman, whose music strings together the nearly 3-hours of thick dialogue.  Leishman's haunting compositions serve as welcome awakeners, featuring cabaret-style piano, accordion, and tuba tunes stylistically similar to Brecht's Threepenny Opera. 

Employed mainly in the first act, the songs (though few and far between) provide much-needed insight into characters' views of the ravaged world around them.  "The Ballad of Mother and Her Son," beautifully ties a thin cord between Courage and Eilif's otherwise hidden hearts.  Yvette's (Katie Barrett) gorgeous torch-song during Act II may be the most moving moment of the evening, as Courage and Kattrin lug their cart through the snow.

Curiously, a hooker (Barrett) and a chamberlain (Patrick Kerr) serve as the comic relief and may be the best performances among the cast.  Also, though she utters no words, Huard serves as an excellent vehicle for propelling the action, especially when she takes a triumphant stand after intermission.

Artistically, the design of the "musical" is flawless, almost creating the feel of a traveling circus.  The vast stage space of the Roda Theatre is mostly empty, sans a few ladders and doors, and the clever usage of drawn curtains for scene changes.

While the show progresses, actors scrawl chalk numbers and words on the walls and floor…almost like prisoners tallying the days away in a cell.  Unfortunately, with each chalk etch, the house may be counting down the minutes toward the end of the tired war-story.

Mother Courage is currently playing through October 22 at the Berkeley Rep's Roda Theatre, located at 2015 Addison Street at Shattuck, Downtown Berkeley.  To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.berkeleyrep.org.

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