Putting a ghost on stage is a useful dramatic device, and it can
be used to dramatic effect (Hamlet) as well as comic (Blithe
Spirit). There can be Freudian implications, or simply the
slapstick of a doubletake when someone sees what couldn't possibly
be there.
In Mama's Ghost, playwright J. Max Turner tries to incorporate
a little of both. David (Philip Alexander) and Sam (Kevin
Horne) are back from the funeral of David's mother, who they
have lived with for 15 years. David and Sam's relationship was
never discussed during that time, and Sam, now free from his disapproving
mother-in-law, is eager to make some changes around the fusty
house. David is unwilling, and Mama (Carolyn Seiff), whose
ghost appears in an obvious but very effective flourish, is even
more unwilling.
This, of course, leads to complications, especially since Mama
is a quarrelsome, disapproving, if ever-so-genteel southern lady.
And besides, she is only visible to Sam, whom she has never acknowledged
as her son's lover. But Mama brings some weird news - it seems
she and Sam have to perform a miracle in order for Mama to get
into heaven. (Just what the miracle is isn't hard to guess, but
they don't figure it out for a while.) Meanwhile, Sabrina (Alexandra
Cremer), a hippie friend of David and Sam's, gets them a decorator,
the mega-flamboyant Antonio La Elegante (Aubrey James),
who has an accent that incorporates elements from most known languages,
and who has a propensity for expressing his decorating inspirations
in as little clothing as possible.
Mama and Sam continue sniping at each other, with Mama getting
fairly mean with her put-downs - "fruit" puns, "fairy"
remarks - and Sam running the gamut of ways of trying to deal
with her, from arguing to ignoring. Finally, David and Sam quarrel
(with the encouragement of Mama) and David has a heart attack.
With this for Act I, there isn't much of anywhere unexpected for
the play to go in Act II. Mama and Sam argue, reason, attack,
defend, cajole and plead with each other, and finally, Mama reveals
that her antagonistic behavior was mostly from feeling left out,
and that she blames herself for her son being gay. Perhaps this
is a revelation to her, but the audience is way ahead of the play
by this point. Yet, just after this revelation, Turner has written
a touching scene between mother and son. That, of course, is
the miracle, Mama's acceptance of her son, and his lover.
Mama's Ghost seems to be caught in a time warp. It is
set in the present, but it doesn't seem very current. The play
has been performed in regional theaters, and it certainly presents
a positive message about families and love. But the mechanics
of the plot creak, and stymie the best efforts of the cast to
make the play vital. Alexander and Horne have a touching sweetness
as the lovers, and a realness that is very appealing. Cremer
makes the most of the eccentric Sabrina, and James's antics nearly
turn the play, most amusingly, into a strip show. Seiff has a
harder time of it because Mama is so unpleasant (in spite of the
thrill she seems to get out of baiting her son's lover), but she
is the linchpin of the play, and her transformation to a heaven-ascending
angel is satisfying, because she seems to glory in the change
(and because the guys will finally be alone together). In line
with the nature of the play, Steve Thornburg has kept the direction
simple. He has also included a bonus - if you stay in the theater
for intermission, you'll see Sabrina and Antonio redecorate Mama's
house (set design by Nadine Charisen). The change isn't
much (it mostly results in a profusion of pink with blue polka
dots) but their interplay is refreshing and amusing.
Dramatically, Mama's Ghost is not very compelling, but
it finally does reveal that it has a heart as big as anything,
or at least as pink as the new furnishings in Mama's, now David
and Sam's, house. Even the play's obviousness is, in the end,
touching.
Box Score
Writing: 1
Directing: 1
Acting: 1
Set: 1
Costumes: 1
Lighting/Sound: 1
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Copyright 1998 David Mackler