Sister Cities
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Adger, Tinsley
Photo by Bryan Kopta
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By Joseph N. Feinstein
Who names her daughters Austin, Baltimore, Carolina, and Dallas? If you're mother Mary and you conceive each daughter in a different city, with a different father, you do! As Colette Freedman's play opens, these four daughters have gathered together in their mother's home while she lays dead in the bathtub, where she has slit her wrists. This rather bizarre comedy, directed by Lisa Cole, opens with the most incongruous, unbelievable first scene. Nobody acts in the manner of these four young ladies upon witnessing their dead mother. The saving grace of the play is that Ms. Freedman eventually gives reality, sobriety, and meaning to each of the sisters as we wend our way forward.
Austin (Bettina Adger) has been living with and caring for her mother; Carolina (Royana Black) has been summoned after a three-year absence in a different city; Baltimore (Jen Eldridge) is the youngest, flightiest, and most immature, though she has her sociology degree; and Dallas (Darcy Martin) is a obsessive-compulsive perfectionist who "can't stand the sight of blood."
As the terror, frustration, and overwhelming shock of their mother's illness (told in a flashback)
becomes apparent to both the sisters and the audience, the play heats up with sympathy, empathy, and understanding of the plot of the play. Perhaps the unbelievable, horrendous first scene was purposely written to create the transformation of the mood for the scenes which follow.
While each of the daughters comports herself in her own particular style, the real heroine of the play is mother Mary, played with grace and sensitivity by Bibi Tinsley, in her one and only scene. She gives the words you've heard before from characters in other plays
new emphasis and meaning. We really feel her plight; we really understand her despair. Her analogy to her condition," like removing the legs of a spider", will stay with you for a long time. The standing ovation she received for her curtain call was well deserved.
Costume design, by Alex Kosztowny, hits the mark by showing the personalities of each sister in what they have chosen to wear. From jeans to a business suit, we can zero in each sister's uniqueness.
I have been vague so that you can attend a performance with an unjaded view. You will not be disappointed, even though Act 1, Scene 1 is total science fiction. The truthfulness of Sister Cities will affect you deeply as you depart. I guarantee it!
Sister Cities Alliance Repertory Company 2811 W. Magnolia Blvd. Burbank 91505
Tel. 800-595-4849 Friday & Saturday @ 8:00 p.m.; Until June 23 ; Tickets $20
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