Interludes

VIEWPOINTS: “Mommy Dearest” in Hell’s Kitchen: Ma-Yi remounts Haruna Lee’s SUICIDE FOREST and MCC presents C.A. Johnson’s ALL THE NATALIE PORTMANS

• By drediman
• March 9, 2020
• No Comments

Currently in Hell’s Kitchen, two Off-Broadway theater companies are putting on plays that respectively depict strained mother-daughter relationships, fiendishly calling to mind the infamous 1981 film Mommie Dearest.

Aoi Lee in Ma-Yi Theater Company’s production of “Suicide Forest” by Haruna Lee at the A.R.T./New York Theatres. Photo by Maria Baranova.

First up is Ma-Yi Theater Company’s remount of Haruna Lee’s Suicide Forest (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) at A.R.T./New York Theatres. I first encountered the play last year at the Bushwick Starr, an experience of which I have vivid memories. The current production is essentially a replica of the staging that I saw in Brooklyn, including the same stunning mostly-Japanese cast. Happily, my thoughts on this terrifically strange and emotionally naked show haven’t changed (you can read my review of the initial Bushwick Starr run here). Most importantly, it’s depiction of a daughter’s confounded relationship with her culturally-estranged mother remains wrenchingly honest and gasp-inducingly real.

Montego Glover and Kara Young in MCC Theater’s production of “All the Natalie Portmans” by C.A. Johnson. Photo by Daniel J. Vasquez.

Then, literally just downstairs from Suicide Forest, we have MCC Theater’s production of C.A. Johnson’s All the Natalie Portmans (SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED). I really wanted to like this play about a widowed mother – sensitively played by Tony-nominated musical theater star Montego Glover – and her alcoholism’s detrimental effect on the lives of her two children, particularly her brilliant but volatile daughter, an aspiring screenwriter. Unfortunately, despite some fine performances and solid direction by Kate Whoriskey, much of Ms. Johnson’s play – particularly the central mother-daughter relationship – registers too much like an after-school special. The play’s title derives from the daughter’s frequent escapist flights of fancy, during which none other than the actress Natalie Portman (disclaimer: NOT played by Natalie Portman), costumed as various characters in her storied film career, fantastically appears to provide moral support and a distraction from life’s harsh realities. Alas, these interludes quickly become trite after losing their quirky novelty.

SUICIDE FOREST
Off-Broadway, Play
Ma-Yi Theater Company / The Bushwick Starr / A.R.T./New York Theatres
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through March 21

ALL THE NATALIE PORTMANS
Off-Broadway, Play
MCC Theater
2 hours, 5 minutes (with one intermission)
Through March 29