This weekend, Baltimore’s Strand Theater Company kicked off its 2012-2013 season with Mother May I, written by Dylan Brody and directed by Rain Pryor. Not only was this the company’s inaugural show, it was also the play’s world premiere.
A dark comedy, Mother May I portrays the dysfunctional relationship of a modern-day American family.
It explores the many secrets which members of the family keep, such as Franny’s (Jessica Felice) homosexuality and book deal, and Daniel’s (Jon Kevin Lazarus) successful Hollywood career. The viewer soon learns that the children keep these secrets in order to distance themselves from their overbearing mother, Ellen (Valerie Lash), who needs to pipe in her two cents about every issue because she cannot imagine something that does not apply to her.
The Strand Theater Company is known for its celebration of women’s diverse voices and perspectives while bringing together both men and women to participate as actors, directors, artists and technicians in their productions. Interestingly, seventy-five percent of the artistic positions on the seventeen full-length plays produced by the Strand Theater Company since 2008 have been given to women.
Mother May I followed in the Strand’s tradition of portraying strong women on and off-stage. Lash’s portrayal of Ellen as an overbearing, self-centered mother was phenomenal. She used a great variety of facial expressions to portray her disgust with her children’s lifestyle choices. She also employed great changes in inflection for when she shifted from telling stories about herself to addressing her children’s problems. Her exaggerated body language came across as a Jewish mother whose sole goal was to protect her children while simultaneously berating them. In addition, she was easy to understand, humorous and captivating.
During intermission, many members of the audience commented that Lash reminded them of their own mother or grandmother. She did such a great job that by the end of the play, even the audience members felt irritated with her inability to relate to her children and her husband’s struggles.
Furthermore, Felice as Franny truly embodied the role of a rebellious and irritable young adult. She had amazing comedic timing and was very good at employing sarcasm. However, Felice was also capable of coming across as serious at many different times throughout the play so that the viewer sympathized with her despite her seemingly rough demeanor. In addition, she had great control over her body and knew how to contort her face into the perfect expression to match the mood of the scene.
Despite the superb acting, the relationship between the set design and the audience was very awkward. The set consisted of a wrap around kitchen and living room, and the audience seating was positioned to face the latter. During the scenes that occurred in the kitchen, the entire audience had to turn themselves sideways on their chairs in order to view the production.
Furthermore, because all of the chairs were squeezed together and on the same level, it was difficult for members of the audience to view certain aspects of the production.
Additionally, the family’s successful Hollywood son, Daniel, and his girlfriend Sarah (Caroline C. Kiebach) did not have strong chemistry together. Both were strong actors when performing individually, but when they attempted to show moments of warmth and love, their joint physicality made the audience feel uncomfortable and wonder how the relationship between the two of them began in the first place.
Playwright Dylan Brody employs clever wit, dry sarcasm, and great comedic timing in this original play.
Brody studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and has worked at comedy venues with stars such as Adam Sandler and Larry David. Creating a dark kind of comedy that is uniquely his own, Brody may just be the master of clever comebacks and witticisms, which can be seen throughout Mother May I.
He has a keen ear for dialogue and for giving each character a distinct personality and set of goals. Each character comes across as three dimensional with their own dreams, hopes and desires, allowing an audience member to glimpse their inner world.
Brody also had a great sense of pacing when writing the scenes, and it never felt like any moments in the show dragged. Rather, each character’s lines quickly followed the person who spoke before them, for which credit is due to the actors as well as to Brody.
However, Brody’s strong writing style failed him when in the second act of the play, he has the father, Paul (Larry Levinson), announce that he once had homosexual feelings, which is why he has so much repressed anger towards his wife.
This declaration seemed to come out of nowhere and left viewers feeling disgruntled and confused. Rather than come to terms with this homosexuality, the entire family simply glosses over the issue.
It felt like Brody had become exhausted as a writer and could not figure out a way to end his script. He therefore inserted a very dramatic reveal, as if attempting to put his script into the genre of soap operas.
Sadly, this tactic failed.
Overall, Mother May I was extremely enjoyable for its comedic insights into the dysfunctional nature of a modern-day American family.
Brody provides the audience with clear and cutting insights into what it means to be a part of American culture today, which was quite interesting. If that’s not enough, Pryor did a great job of creating a strong and dynamic cast who, when they come together, form a great team.
Mother May I will be playing at the Strand Theater until October 12th. The show is at 8 p.m. and costs $15 for students.
