First let me confess, there’s almost no
way I could dislike "I Remember Mama" – whatever form
this warm and wonderful story takes.
My childhood memories of sitting in front of the television watching
the Hanson’s old family album open and hearing the offstage voice
intoning, "But most of all, I remember Mama," followed
by a crescendo, are as comforting as chicken soup and a soft
Teddy bear. And Peggy Wood, with her blonde braids wound round
her head, and her comforting and calm voice, may have been the
mother wished for by a generation of children.
The Heights Players’ current production follows John Van Druten’s
stage adaptation of "Mama’s Bank Account," Kathryn
Forbes’ collection of autobiographical short stories about an
immigrant Norwegian family living in San Francisco in 1910. The
production is somewhat rambling, unfocused and exhaustingly long.
But it retains all the genuine sentiment and solid good sense
that made the original play a Broadway hit in the war-torn 1940s
and a long-running TV series in the years that followed.
Deborah Pautler, whom director Ted Thompson found when he was
directing "Fuddy Meers" for the Gallery Players, plays
Marta Hanson, mother to Katrin, Dagmar, Christine and Nels, and
wife of Lars. It is Marta who cooks, cleans and provides moral,
emotional and intellectual support for everyone else in the family.
And just as it is Marta who holds the family together and ensures
everyone’s success, it is Pautler who holds this play together
and makes it work.
Pautler is a bit too young for the part, but she is so utterly
believable that it’s easy to forget such a minor detail. She
has the calm gestures and the gentle voice of a woman who is
overworked but not overwhelmed, and the subtle sense of humor
of someone determined to survive. Whatever the problem the Hansons
face – an injured cat, a sick child or a dying uncle – Pautler
makes the audience feel it is of vital and personal importance.
Pautler, however, does not work alone. She is surrounded by excellent
supporting actors – Bob Doxsey as Lars Hanson; John Downing as
Mr. Hyde, the Hanson’s boarder who is both a charlatan and an
actor; and Michael Blake as the gruff but warmhearted Uncle Chris.
Erin Wade is Katrin, the aspiring writer upon whose memories
the play is based. She does an impressive job as a self-absorbed
and sensitive adolescent searching to find her place in the adult
world. But it is the very nature of the role that in remembering
her she is overshadowed by Mama – especially when the role is
filled by such a formidable actress as Pautler.
A more experienced actress might have held her own better. But
Wade shows much promise, and this reviewer would like to see
more of her after this, her New York debut.
Forbes’ book was the source of not only a play (with Mady Christians
as Mama and a young Marlon Brando as Nels) and a TV series, but
also a 1948 movie (with Irene Dunne as Mama).
It isn’t hard to understand what gives this story its strong
appeal. Who could resist this family with its loving mother,
stolid father and close-knit extended family filled with people
who are sometimes ridiculous but always relevant?
In fact, this play is so appealing that it manages to survive
even though it has no real plot, no suspense and nothing to tie
the many episodes together other than the love of the family
and Katrin’s desire to write about it.
Like a good poem, "I Remember Mama" can have meaning
without moving. But even a good poem may need editing. And Thompson
might have done his audience, to say nothing of his actors, a
good turn by exercising a bit of directorial license. He could
have dropped any number of scenes and lost none of the flavor
of the play.
Still, in a sick and troubled world, "I Remember Mama"
is just what the doctor ordered. In 1944, America was in the
midst of war and just recovering from the Great Depression. Today
we are on the brink of war and in the midst of recession. In
times of trouble, everyone needs a "Mama."
’Easy Street’
She doesn’t have big round eyes and curly hair. But young Lynda
Senisi certainly has the plaintive, powerful voice and beseeching
manners of the famous little orphan. And she’s the star of an
energetic and charming revival of "Annie" now on stage
at Brooklyn Family Theatre in Park Slope.
Annie is co-directed by Phill Greenland and Jonathan Valuckas,
a team that brought us "The Pirates of Penzance" earlier
this season. These masters of theatrical minimalism know how
to make much of digitized music, cardboard scenery ("Annie"
uses a scale model of New York City) and a few props – a chair,
a trunk, a bottle of gin. They also certainly know how to choose
their talent.
In addition to finding star material for the role of "Annie,"
they’ve also cast Jennifer Harrison as that quintessential harridan,
Miss Hannigan, headmistress of the orphanage. I would have sworn
Harrison was wearing a microphone, but was surprised and delighted
to find out I was wrong. The voice that exploded into the furthest
reaches of the Church of Gethsemane was the sole product of lungs
and diaphragm.
Hector Coris is the conniving Rooster Hannigan and Tom Patterson
is the awkward, generous Oliver Warbucks. Together they form
a vivid and comical contrast of good and evil. Coris dances and
swaggers. Patterson convincingly doesn’t seem to know what to
do with his hands.
Of course a script that has everything an audience could want
– kids, a dog and Christmas – doesn’t hurt.
Based on Harold Gray’s "Little Orphan Annie" comic
strip, "Annie" has a book by Thomas Meehan, lyrics
by Martin Charnin and music by Charles Strouse. The musical follows
Annie as she runs away from the orphanage looking for her parents,
finds herself caught by a policeman, and is returned to the orphanage
only to be chosen to spend Christmas with Daddy Warbucks, a billionaire
even during those Depression years. Annie is so charming and
spunky that she wins Warbucks’ heart and a place in his home
forever. Talk about a rags to riches story!
The musical is also socially conscious. President Franklin Roosevelt
(Jim Conmy) makes an appearance, robust in his wheelchair and
brandishing his famous cigarette holder; as does his cabinet
– Ickes, Perkins, Hull and Morganthau. They all try to figure
out what is the best way to get the country out of its economic
doldrums, and Annie so inspires Roosevelt that he comes up with
the New Deal.
"Annie" has enough showstoppers to keep it running
an extra 15 minutes on a good night. There’s the bluesy "Easy
Street" (Coris, Harrison and Monica Anselm as Rooster’s
girlfriend, Lily St. Regis named after the hotel); the
haunting "Maybe" (Senisi); the soft-shoe ensemble piece,
"You’re Never Fully Dressed"; and the inspirational
"Tomorrow" (belted out by Senisi).
Brooklyn Family Theatre doesn’t have the stage for big dance
numbers, though they certainly had the talent: this past summer
Senisi danced at the Metropolitan Opera House with the Kirov
Ballet in "La Bayadere," and Anselm has recently been
seen as Chorus Girl 3B in New York University’s main stage production
of "Carousel." But in this case, a low-profile production
only served to highlight the talent that was on stage.
Initially unable to find a Broadway producer, "Annie"
opened at the Godspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. Mike
Nichols saw the show there and brought it to the Alvin Theatre
in April 1977 where it ran for 2,377 performances and won the
Tony and Drama Critics’ Circle awards for best musical. ("Sex
and the City’s" Sarah Jessica Parker played Annie.)
In 1982, the musical was turned into a film starring Aileen Quinn
as Annie, Albert Finney as Oliver Warbucks and Carol Burnett
as Miss Hannigan.
Annie takes a nostalgic look at events that are far enough in
the past to warrant nostalgia. Ask anyone who lived through the
Depression and they will most assuredly find nothing amusing
about selling apples in the street or living in one of those
makeshift towns known as Hoovervilles, named after the president
who famously saw "prosperity" around every corner.
In the musical, Warbucks is a lovable character, but Gray left
no doubt where this prosperous industrialist got his money. And
with all those billions on their side, naturally the good guys
outwit (or is that outspend) the bad guys.
But let us not deal harshly with those who sanitized the little
orphan and her escapades. Who knows how our children may look
back on the scandals – in the White House and in the boardrooms
– that rocked our decades? Far better to just sit back and enjoy.
"Annie" is a great show!
Chekhov it out
The Wooster Group’s production of "Brace Up!" now on
stage at St. Ann’s Warehouse, 38 Water St. at Dock Street in
DUMBO, has extended its run through April 13. The avant-garde
show, based on Anton Chekhov’s "Three Sisters," features
actors Willem Dafoe and Kate Valk. For performance schedule,
see Where to GO. For tickets, $30-$37.50, call (718) 858-2424.
The Heights Players’ production of "I Remember Mama"
plays though March 22, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, and Sunday
at 2 pm, at 26 Willow Place, between Joralemon and State streets
in Brooklyn Heights. Tickets are $20, $8 seniors and students.
For reservations, call (718) 237-2752.
Brooklyn Family Theatre’s production of "Annie" runs
through April 5, Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 4 pm and 8 pm,
and Sundays at 5 pm at the Church of the Gethsemane, 1012 Eighth
Ave. at 10th Street in Park Slope. Tickets are $12. For reservations,
call (718) 670-7205.
