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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Mother Play
Director Margot Bordelon demonstrates a strong but not overbearing affinity for Vogel's semi-autobiographical work, which follows the playwright, here named Martha (Zoe Mann), and her family from their teens into adulthood. Martha and her brother Carl (Stanley Bahorek) both have their own dreams, but no one else in the family can really stand out when their mother Phyllis (Kate Eastwood Norris) is around. (Her former husband, also their neglectful father, hovers in the background as an unseen presence.) Vogel has written Phyllis as self-willed but never consciously malicious: she believes that she is the only person standing between her children and disaster, but she still needs time for her martinis and thrift-shop designer outfits (costumes by Danielle Preston). She worries about Carl when he comes out and for many years is determined to make the uninterested Martha into a marriageable young woman. While no one character dominates the play as a whole, Phyllis is the center of the storm, and Norris is fully up to the challenge. Bahorek and Mann shine in their scenes together as they try to minimize the impact of their mother's domineering presence. Krit Robinson has designed a deceptively simple set that comes to encompass each stop in the family's journey, from a roach-infested apartment (projections by Shawn Boyle) to Phyllis' final home in a retirement community. Decorative details emerge from the rear wall and through the upstage door, all showcased in Amith Chandrashaker's lighting design. Mother Play runs through January 4, 2026, at Studio Theatre, Mead Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW, Washington DC. For tickets and information, please call 202-332-3300 or visit www.studiotheatre.org. By Paula Vogel Cast: |
