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Regional Reviews: St. Louis My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding
Laura Ackermann is Claire, the mother in question, amazingly at home on this crazy carousel of a set (by the outstanding Margery and Peter Spack). And in David Hein and Irene Sankoff's 95-minute musical, she riffles through a dizzying array of emotions, including anguish and school-girl giddiness, to help endear the whole pastiche to our hearts. Edward Coffield directs, drawing out the absolute best from everyone on stage. Ben Nordstrom narrates, as Claire's grown-up son, with a great twinkle in his eye. And Pierce Hastings plays the younger version of him, through his mother's divorce (John Flack plays the husband and father in Nebraska) and the ups and downs of Claire making a new life for herself, as a lesbian in Canada. Deborah Sharn is her Wiccan girlfriend, and we learn some interesting things about that religion too (they come off sounding rather like the Deist fathers of our own country, more than anything else). The women's great number in (the unlikely setting of) a Hooter's restaurant is horrifyingly earnest, as they tell future daughter-in-law Irene (the great Jennifer Theby-Quinn) about all kinds of ways to avoid pregnancy, beyond The Pill. It's potentially drab, but the power of these three actresses makes it gasp-inducing. Ms. Theby-Quinn, as Irene and other roles, uses lots of nuance to add quirkiness and pathos to dialog that barely even suggests those qualities. She's also caught in a political jam, in Ottawa, where her father is a conservative government official. And suddenly she's expected to show up for a march for marriage equality. And though the script doesn't allow for any long introspective song about the problem this poses for her (as always) this particular actress is ready to fill in the gaps with great psychological meaning and intent. But right then, there was a very odd moment, during that big "Legalize Love" march song. I found myself frozen uncomfortably in my seat—as if everyone else in the audience was ready to joyfully embrace the 'musical theater version' of gay marriage at last, with some truly lovely Hair style harmonies, thanks to music director Charlie Mueller. But the number is all too big and unwary and simple-minded, in a production that finds nearly all its validation between the lines. Perhaps all the ambitious artists here have no choice but to surrender to the script in its most topical number—ending up with a big, shallow gesture that's somehow blood-chilling in a headlong rush to celebrate. But that's just for a couple of minutes. Otherwise, great work from Anna Skidis and Chase Thomaston—she's the laconic lesbian roommate when Claire first moves north of the border, and the very funny waitress at Hooters. And Mr. Thomaston is exactly right in a long list of bright comical parts: as a commercial jet pilot, a blow-dried TV reporter, and part of a trio of dancing rabbis, among other roles. Through May 31, 2015, at the Wool Studio Theatre, on the campus of the Jewish Community Center. For more information visit www.newjewishtheatre.org. Cast Production Staff * Denotes Member, Actors Equity Association, the professional union of actors and stage managers in the US Musicians
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