“'night, Mother" at Augustana College -- March 3 through 6.
Thursday, March 3, through Sunday, March 6
Augustana's College Honkamp Myhre Black Box Theatre, 3750 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Play, Marsha Norman's haunting and affecting 'night, Mother serves as the latest student-produced theatre offering in Augustana College's 2021-22 season, a powerful work that caused the New York Times to rave, "It is Marsha Norman's profound achievement that she brings both understanding and dignity to forgotten and tragic American lives.”
With 'night, Mother's intermission-less action set on a seemingly normal evening, we meet Thelma "Mama" Cates, an aging mother and widow who lives with her daughter Jessie, the unsatisfied, depressed, divorced mother of a troubled son who struggles with her life as an unemployed epileptic. On this night, Jessie comes into the room asking her mother about the whereabouts of her father’s old revolver. When Jessie finds it in the attic, she confesses to her mother that she is going to kill herself – tonight. At first, Mama laughs this off, thinking Jessie is just making a sick joke. But as Jessie makes her way around the house organizing, making lists, and teaching Mama her responsibilities, it soon becomes clear that it is not. As Mama pleads for Jessie to reconsider her decision, old secrets are revealed and long-ignored feelings rise to the surface, resulting in an unforgettable stage work that led the Hollywood Reporter to extol, “There is no denying its ultimate emotional power.”
Performing this challenging two-person drama for Augustana are students Raxanne Torian as Mama and Cassidy Wiltjer as Jessie, with the production directed by Augustana senior Amy Nicholson, a performer in such area productions as the college's Noises Off and The Crucible and the Mississippi Bend Players' Biloxi Blues. “When I found out that I'd be directing 'night, Mother,” said Nicholson, “I knew that this show would be a special experience. Due to its heavy subject matter and small, two-person cast, I knew that creating a safe creative space was of utmost importance. For every rehearsal we have started and ended with meditation and mindfulness exercises and we often have discussions about the show and the characters. Since the script provides so much depth to the show already, I decided that a minimalist approach would suit the show best. Instead of putting energy toward a complex set and technical elements, I am focusing on showcasing the intimacy and emotional suffocation that increases as the show progresses.”
Joining Nicholson the play's creative team are stage manager Faith Rund, lighting designer (and new Reader theatre reviewer) Roger Pavey, costume designer Jacqueline Issacson, and props designer Megan Anderson, and as its director said, “Put bluntly, 'night, Mother is not the kind of show that will leave any audience member uplifted and optimistic. However, it will portray a very real relationship grappling with a very real issue. It is at times heart-warming and clever while simultaneously feeling excruciatingly vulnerable and painful. In this production, theatricality is put on the back burner so intimacy can be brought to the forefront.”
'night, Mother runs March 3 through 6 in Augustana College's Honkamp Myhre Black Box Theatre located in the Brunner Theatre Center, and performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Admission is $5-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)794-7306 and visiting Augustana.edu/tickets.
