Valerie Lash as Mother, Thelma and Erin Klarner as Daughter, Jesse. Photo credit: Spotlighters Theatre / machpe Photography.
There are no casual or accidental moments in Marsha Norman’s “‘night, Mother.” For both characters, every word spoken and every action are chillingly intentional—there are no “throwaway” lines. The relentless build to Mother Thelma’s realization that she has no control over, and no ownership of, her daughter and that her own wasted life and miserable marriage to Jesse’s father have not earned her the right to demand a happy ending are the reasons this Pulitzer Prize (1983) winning play remains powerful and timely. Spotlighters Theatre in Baltimore is to be congratulated for choosing this important and challenging play to engage their audience in its 60th season.
…unrelenting in the emotional intensity required of the two actors.…kudos to Klarner and Lasher for going toe-to-toe with Norman’s characters…
Playwright Marsha Norman wastes no time setting up the action. In the first two minutes, Jesse (Erin Klarner) is on stage and already organizing her impending suicide later that evening. As she busily collects old towels, a plastic sheet, garbage bags, and old pillows, she casually asks Mama (Valerie Lash) for the location of her Daddy’s old gun. The stakes are immediately high. Jesse is divorced, afflicted with epilepsy, has a drug-addicted son, and can’t hold down a job. With no friends and no prospects, she’s done. Her choice to commit suicide is the one decision she can make that gives her complete control and she has found peace with that. Norman does not judge Jesse’s choice, simply making clear it is her choice and hers alone. Discussion of morality, sin, selfishness, depression, and psychological or medical treatment are briefly mentioned and dismissed—better for a post-show talk-back.
Jesse and Mama live together in Mama’s isolated house on a country road. Alan Zemal’s set effectively captures Mama’s home—this house is all about her and not about Jessie. The dated warm colors, the clutter, the afghan on the sofa, the impressive collection of old family photographs on the walls and every surface vividly enhance a suffocating claustrophobia. But the design has tempted Director Suzanne Beal and Fuzz Roark—who stepped in for the final weeks after Beal had to drop out—to use every available space in the tiny theater. This sometimes affected the action and mood of the play. The action does not require so much space, but since it was in the design, the director was compelled to use superfluous playing areas, such as a dining room that serves no purpose other than as another place for Jessie to aimlessly run to.
That brings me to the main directorial flaw in this production. “‘night, Mother” is a nightmarish clash between two people with very clear objectives, slowly circling each other until someone wins or escapes. Jesse should not be bustling all over the house. She is the cat and Mama is the mouse. Jesse is the decisive, resolute point of focus around which her mother buzzes—trying to understand, trying to help, and trying to stop until she realizes, in her emotional climax, that she has lost. Jesse’s calm, confident certainty about her decision is designed to drive Mama’s increasingly panicked ploys. Yet Klarner has been directed to move almost constantly around the stage, distracting us and dissipating the tension.
Casting choices also account for some of the difficulties with the tone of the performances. The age disparity between the two actors is greater than written in the script. In fact, the difference stretches credulity. With some lines, Klarner sounds like a petulant teenager. For example, when her mother confesses to the emptiness of her marriage, Jesse’s “I’m sorry you didn’t love him” comes off as flippant rather than truly sincere. Mama sometimes sounds like she’s trying to talk Jesse out of quitting school, not killing herself.
Pacing overall is good, though both actors are too relaxed. As a result, the emotional build is insufficient for the final moment of the play to feel truly devastating. The tensions begin to climb several times and then the air goes out of the sails. Not that the performance is lacking in emotional clarity as when, halfway through the play, Jesse tries to rationalize her suicide with her sadness about “the way things are,” the things she reads in the newspapers and watches on TV. Mama’s fear and frustration are palpable in the moment, as she hits the TV and cries “Take it out then!” Lasher has another a lovely moment with her line “I will sing ’til morning to keep you alive, Jesse.”
“‘night, Mother” is difficult and demanding, unrelenting in the emotional intensity required of the two actors. So, kudos to Klarner and Lasher for going toe-to-toe with Norman’s characters. The technical elements of the production were on target for the most part. Most particularly, this is a play with a daunting properties list and, without counting, I’ll bet Props Mistress Melissa Bannister has provided just about all of them, giving the house a truly lived-in look. The costumes by Rachel Smith were appropriately dowdy and downtrodden as required for the two women.
Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
Advisory: Performances contain adult language and references; contains discussion of suicide. A gunshot is included in the performance.
“‘night, Mother” runs through June 11, 2024 (Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 2 pm) at Spotlighters Theatre, 817 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. Adult tickets are $24; Seniors, Students, and Military: $21. Ten Spot Thursday (June 1, 2023 – 8 pm) $10. For more information and to purchase tickets, go online. Masks are optional and available for those who wish to wear them.
