Summary
A radically adapted version of Brecht’s “The Mother” set in 1970s/80s Miami, this play intertwines teenage memories with political activism, following a woman’s journey through personal and historical upheaval.
Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 7:00 PM Mar 30, 2025, 7:00 PM
Just me and a dozen members of Jessica Hecht’s synagogue (whom she personally invited) hanging out on a Sunday night. “Breaking Bad questions are not allowed during the talkback,” she dreamily implies, looking right into my eyes with extreme menace, moments before an older woman in the fourth row absolutely pillories her for not understanding Bertolt Brecht, race relations, or indeed her own lived experience
To that last point, it certainly feels a little audacious to insert autobiographical details into an adaptation of “The Mother” set against the Miami race riots. But I think it actually kinda works to hammer home the central question - what do you, personally, need to see to be spurred into action for a greater cause? It’s an interesting synthesis and timely, no doubt.
I know this is her baby, but I’m a little curious what it would be like to see someone other than Jessica herself play the lead. She’s delightful when she’s recounting the story of her own lost love, but her refined mannerisms do not really track with a teenager at theater camp playing a mother struggling with the price of soup.
The piece could probably also use some edits for clarity. Actors change characters a lot and there are a lot of abrupt scene changes and scenes-within-scenes and descriptions of off-stage events and meta-discussions about the play, and they paper over it with “in this next scene…” breaks, but nevertheless I felt a little disoriented at points.
It is by their own admission a work in progress. Will be interested to see what, if anything, they do with this next.