Mother's Day

Curtain Calls
By Donald V. Calamia
Review: ‘Mother’s Day’

It’s not often that a regional theater located so far from the Great White Way has an opportunity to produce the North American premiere of a new play written by an up-and-coming and critically acclaimed playwright. It’s also rare – given the success-to-failure rate of new works – for that show to be a critical and commercial hit.

“Mother’s Day,” now in production at Lansing’s BoarsHead Theatre, is a fine example of the quality work Michigan’s regional professional theaters are capable of staging. Given the show’s slick production values, uniformly superb cast and comically ironic script, the folks at the BoarsHead have done everything possible to make “Mother’s Day” a critical success.

Playwright Jeff Baron’s witty script tells the comedic story of a seemingly typical American family about to celebrate the annual Hallmark holiday. What we find instead is a family in which keeping score and choosing sides are a time honored tradition.

Comfortably ensconced at its head is Estelle, a matriarchal mother and grandmother, whose family is making the ritualistic trek home to share a holiday meal. It’s a day she won’t soon forget.

From the very start, Estelle’s big day progresses from one unpleasant surprise to another. It peaks with a particularly nasty encounter with daughter, Leslie (a lovely and successful golf pro who brings home her latest – and butchest – girlfriend to meet the family), after which Estelle suffers a stroke.

From there, the script’s delicious irony takes over: The outcast provides the voice of sanity, long-simmering feelings are brought to the surface and tightly held family secrets are revealed. And some things never change.

It’s easy to see why actress Carmen Decker is a long-time favorite of BoarsHead audiences. Her portrayal of Estelle is priceless: She’s not the evil, manipulative witch some lesser-talented thespian could make her; instead, she’s played as the lovable and shrewd (but never shrew-like) despot who simply enjoys being in control of her surroundings. Decker especially shines in the second half when she must act without the advantage of talking. There’s no doubt what she’s trying to communicate!

Baron also gives each of the other actors their moment to shine. Their near flawless performances enhance the script, something for which most authors and directors would gladly give their firstborn child.