My Three Moms
My Three Moms
By Virginia Bryan
Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival – Blue Venue</strong>
I often find “One woman, Thirty Charter” shows confusing, but Ms. Bryan keeps her slices of life crisp enough and the voices distinct enough to prevent me getting lost in the flux of black dressed women. “My Three Moms” focuses on her reactions to attending funerals for the three women who raised her. Her birth mother was British War Bride and ended up in Athens, Georgia. Mom 1 took to drink, and she found her husband in the bed of his widowed sister-in-law, they split. Mom 2 was black woman who took care for several years and always called her “my pink baby”, while Mom 3 was the woman who drove off Mom 1. Its bit of a soap opera, but then who’s life isn’t?
What comes though from all this flurry of opinions is the small town disproval of any sort of departure from traditional societal roles. Women marry early, raise children, and think little, and disapproving clucks guide you back. Elderly women offer creepy and un marriageable grandsons, a lack of children in marriage is a great a failing as producing any before the wedding, and the funeral service is as much about showing off the cooking skills of the survivors as honoring the life of the deceased. You might call this “heart warming” or “heartfelt,” but I see it as “yup – that’s the way we all are.” A whole season of jerry Springer in lurks here, but without the embarrassing cat fights.
This show is part of the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. Tickets and other information may be found at http:\www.OrlandoFringe.org
