BWW Reviews: Whitmore Eclectic's Production of 'NIGHT, MOTHER Absolutely Stuns!
'night, Mother/by Marsha Norman/directed by Aliah Whitmore/The Lost Studio/thru December 14, 2014
OMG! Everyone in the audience, including the men, ended up sobbing by the end of this, in real time, eavesdropping of a mother and daughter's last conversation, otherwise better known as Marsha Norman's Pulitzer Prize winning 'night, Mother. 90 minutes never went by so fast and so gut-wrenchingly painful, yet curiously amusing. Aliah Whitmore deftly directs her two extremely gifted actresses, Sylva Kelegian and Lisa Richards, in an only-what's-needed, streamlined, concise battle of wits between Jessie and her Mama. Every word, every emotion, every gesture has a meaning and a purpose to this drama. Jessie, the adult daughter living in her mother's house has just announced to Mama that after she pampers her with her weekly manicure, she will lock herself in her room and shoot herself. Norman has found the humor in this particularly unfunny situation in which each character vacillates between dry practicality and somewhat gallows humor (given the circumstances). Both Kelegian as Jessie and Richards as Mama brilliantly navigate the highs and lows of this tragic confrontation scene no one ever wants to experience in their own lives. Reasons, excuses, and revelations get tossed around both, as lightly as the wrapped candies Mama throws into the air and, as weighty as the pots and pans she later sweeps off her kitchen counter to crash noisily onto the floor. Contradictions abound with last-ditch pleadings seamlessly interspersed with razor-sharp accusations.
Production designer Jacob Whitmore's detailed, lived-in living room/kitchen set with its flea market tchotchkes greatly complement the appropriate trapped, claustrophobic feel of this piece.
Every element of this Whitmore Eclectic/Ellen Gerstein production's pitch perfect! Aliah and Jacob's grandfather James Whitmore would be SO proud of the both of them!
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