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| OC REGISTER A tough, sensitive 'Mother' Rude Guerrilla brings an intimate drama to life through assured acting and attention to the script's subtle details. January 18, 2002 By ERIC MARCHESE Special to the Register Autism is a strange world. No one outside of it can really say what it's like. Those who have been there are incapable of saying anything. Bob Randall's play "David's Mother" gives us an up-close-and-personal view of an autistic teen-ager, David Goodman, who lives in a small, cluttered New York City apartment with his mother, Sally. And, as the title indicates, Randall's focus isn't so much on David himself as it is on Sally, and the effects that a lifetime of caring for David have had upon her. Written, workshopped and developed on the East Coast, in Cleveland and in Pasadena in the early '90s, this small-scale play has the earmarks of the various intimate dramas developed for television by the Hallmark Hall of Fame. And that's how it's played by the Rude Guerrilla Theater Company in a strong and occasionally moving production at the Empire Theater in downtown Santa Ana. The only difference, though, from a general-audience TV drama is the script's profanity. Most of it comes from the mouth of Sally. She's thick-skinned and hearty. Much of her salty language is blurted out routinely, without any thought. Much of it is born of the anger and frustration she feels at trying to interact with others after years of relating only to her autistic son. Playwright Randall, though, won't let Sally - or us - wallow in her predicament. Her sharp tongue is her weapon against the world, and it's the device that allows us to laugh in unexpected places. The laugh lines are keenly observed and well-timed - they seem to come up just when we most need a break from the subject matter's almost unrelieved seriousness. "David's Mother" isn't plot-, but character-driven, so we see intimate scenes between Sally and David, and Sally and her sister Bea, and Sally trying to make a transition back into the dating world with a friend of her sister's. We also see, in flashbacks, how Sally's obsessive connection to David drives away her husband and daughter. Simmering underneath is the question - first implied, later stated - of whether Sally truly holds David's best interest at heart or whether she's using him to avoid emotional involvement with anyone else. It's all done through smart, pointed dialogue and a logical sequence of events. At the Empire, director Jody J. Reeves maintains the script's bittersweet tone, driven by Cathy Petz' dynamic portrayal of Sally. Petz covers all the bases: Sally's anger at the world for not seeing her beloved son the way she does, her acerbic manner, and her sophisticated sensibility, so at odds with her tough exterior. Petz' Sally is no pushover, and the actor carves an honest, carefully modulated performance. Eric Eisenbrey excels in the physically demanding role of David, his limbs painfully twisted, his mouth constantly drooling, even the slightest movements effected in jerky spasms. He must be almost nonreactive to the fireworks around him, and in a surprising development late in the play, he responds to a stranger's efforts to reach him. Reeves also gets compelling work from Susan Shearer as a calm, sympathetic social worker who can match Sally's toughness when needed, Cory Harley Vincent as Sally's gentle, practical-minded new boyfriend, and Stephen Wagner, serious and desperate as Sally's ex-husband. Jeff Strack's scenic design suggests Sally's self-mocking "downward mobility" - books and paintings, yes, but also shabby furnishings and a plethora of stuffed animals, board games, finger paintings and kids videotapes. Reeves adds to the poignant aura with her choice of sensitive music, including Sarah McLachlan and Tori Amos. |
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| OC WEEKLY THEATER | REVIEW January 25 - 31, 2001 Rude Guerrilla's David's Mother by Chris Ziegler David's Mother might be an issue play, but it's not about the issue you'd think. Sure, the David in question grapples with severe mental impairment, but this isn't one of those fuzzy-wuzzy morality tales about someone parlaying severe mental impairment into slap-on-the-back success-you know, like Forrest Gump or the current American presidency. Instead, under Jody J. Reeves' direction, David's Mother uses David's addled brain as the nucleus of concentric rings of codependence and control. It's less an issue play than a character study, and as befits the title, it's less about David than his mother, Sally. Appropriately, it's a sometimes tense and taxing experience. The embattled Sally (Cathy Petz) faces the unenviable task of trying to be all things to all people-a responsibility not coincidentally also assumed by the production itself. Certainly any slice-of-life play is going to encompass everything from tears and jeers to laughs and gaffes, but like Sally, Mother has almost too much going on to catch its breath. Besides caring for the aforementioned David (an admirably understated Eric Eisenbrey, performing a character instead of a symbol), Sally is juggling a recent divorce, a fragmented family, a rosy-cheeked new beau (Cory Harley Vincent) and a tender-if-meddling sister (Annette Lewis). Oh, and did we mention the snow job she's trying to pull on the New York Department of Child Welfare? Forgive us if we looked as harried as Susan Shearer's social worker Gladys as we weathered Sally's whirlwind life and rattlesnake charm ("So, how long has it been since your wife died?" she chirps on a first date). Between the whiplash flashbacks and the roiling cast of characters, it takes a while for the audience and the performers to get their footing. The best moments are the little ones, as when Sally wipes David's face clean with an uncalculated and routine tenderness. Mother is by turns manic and maudlin, but it fares best when Petz manages to fuse the two: "People think if they just talk loud, he'll act normal," she snarks to her boyfriend as he tries to teach David to use the VCR. It hurt to laugh at that one-like it should. David's Mother at the Empire Theater, 200 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, _(714) |
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| David's Mother Rude Guerrilla Theater Company The Empire Theater Written by Bob Randall Directed by Jody J. Reeves Produced by Dave Barton, Michelle Fontenot, and Don Hess WALLFOUR.COM Has Realism Ever Been This Moving? Richard Tomoguchi When I was first told that autism was the focus of the current production at the Empire Theater, David's Mother, my focus immediately went to David, the autistic son of Sally. If there was to be stellar performance anywhere on stage when the lights went up, it would have to be in this role played by Eric Eisenbrey-a challenging role of a challenged boy. Yet as the play progressed, the talent unfolded all around, to the degree that even the boy drooling in the corner was able to be left in the corner, and audience eyes were allowed to be diverted elsewhere. There is a quality of this show that feels so real in its story, dialogue and performances. Its audience will feel a supreme sense of fulfillment, without having ever been exposed to a single touch of the fantastic that is so readily at the disposal of any playwright or producer. David's Mother is great because the characters are consistently real. Though the situation itself may not be one that is prevalent in lives of each member of the audience, the believability of the characters is enough to re-seat each of them as guests in this New York Apartment living room.Pulling the audience in so close did something interesting to them-it made them unsure of when to laugh. Like polite invited guests, they could not laugh openly with Sally, played by Cathy Petz, because the laughter would have been at the expense of her autistic son. Instead there was restrained laughter-people laughing with their mouths closed, trying very hard not to allow a single chuckle to escape. This compulsion to laugh truly substantiates how real Petz's performance is. Cathy Petz makes Sally so relatable that she inevitably wins the audience over, making it okay to laugh along with her. For it is not cruelty that fuels her sarcastic wit, rather it is something closer to frustration or despair. So when Sally finds her moments when she can laugh, please, laugh with her right from the start, it's okay. After all, it's not by chance that the audience always sits in the dark, out of view. This show, as its title suggests, is more about David's Mother, Sally, than David himself. Cathy Petz, is remarkable. Silly as this sounds, even when dragging her feet about the apartment her presence is electric. I was amazed at all the places she pulled intensity from, pouring it back out in a giant mess for the audience to wipe up. This is not to say that Eisenbrey was upstaged by Petz. He was just smart enough to not make himself the focus. Smartly, Eisnebrey played David within the part of David, not taking an easy opportunity to upstage his Mother or the entire show. His performance gives this show the quality that it needs: that in this household, with things being business as usual-the plight on stage is always heavier because it is ordinary. Eisenbrey knew his performance was sincere enough to not need to draw needless attention to himself. That in itself, is what makes the audience want to reach out to him. Annette Lewis makes her debut at the Empire, portraying the role of Bea. Lewis seemed to struggle slightly in the first act, her language seeming forced. However she let go a little more in the second act-as the stakes are raisedm, so are her emotions. This brings out a more truthful quality of her character and contributes more to her relationship with Sally, her sister. The men in Sally's life are played by Stephen Wagner as Phillip, Sally's ex-husband, and Cory Harley Vincent, playing John, a boyfriend introduced by Bea. I found the romantic relationships particularly interesting in this show. Sally's continued love for her ex, is a great part of the show because, it again points toward truth. Love lost is not immediately replaced by a new found relationship, like it is in many shows. Real people are more complex than that. Though Wagner does not have many long scenes on stage, he is somehow able to bring forth his character in full very quickly. He does this so well, that his Phillip is not resigned to being the icon of the ex-husband, but rather an emotionally complex and complete character that Sally cannot dismiss. Like Lewis, Vincent seemed a little stiff when the character of John is introduced. However, he really comes on during a fiery scene between Sally, John, and Phillip that mixes both past and present, in an intense illustration of the duplicity and patterns of Sally's relationships. Susan Shearer plays the role of Gladys, a social worker assigned to David. Shearer does a great job playing a character torn between compassion and duty. Mood was unbelievable in this production. The characters don't ever break during scene changes, even when the lights go down. I would really like to credit the director on that, as well as something I never thought I would comment on: music. The director's choices of music during set changes were perfect. Each choice seemed to capture some part of the scene just played in order to allow it to linger into the next as the lights come back up. These brilliant segues connect all the scenes together so that a mood is not only established, but encumbers the audience. David's Mother is the first show that wallfour.com has given five Popsicles to. I highly recommend it. The show is moving, complex and complete. The performances are great. The director has a deep understanding of the script, and the actors' affection for it, is what really brings out the tears in their audience. David's Mother |
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CurtainUp LA review “David's Mother” by Stanley H. Nemeth
The current offering at the Rude Guerrilla Company, Bob Randall's “David's Mother,” is unfortunately yet another merely routine dealing-with-disability drama. It is so lacking in subtext that, were its brief bedroom scene excised, it could serve admirably as a heart-warming TV Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation or an Afterschool Playhouse Special. The production itself is of mixed quality. As the autistic, teenaged David, the marvelous Eric Eisenbrey steals the show, though his character - like that of Helen Keller - doesn't speak a single word. Through facial expression and body language, he is able to convey the anguish of a trapped, frustrated intelligence. The other actors do not rise to the level of his performance. The set design, by Jeff Strack, is worth being singled out, too. With the limited resources at his disposal, his set nonetheless tellingly conveys through its tackiness and clutter the genteel poverty that has become the world of the guilty, narrowly focused Sally, David's mother. The weakest elements of the production are those of timing and pacing. Most of theactors deliver their lines as oddly self-contained wholes and are not responded to bytheir listening fellows with either a quickness or a naturalness that would create credibility. Whether this flaw is traceable to the director, some of the actors, or eventhe script itself is an open question. For the full text of the review, please go to http://www.curtainup.com/davidsmother.html |
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