"My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion" by Sasha Denisova is about her relationship with her mother. It is also a world premiere production, and it is worthy of the presentation. What I feared before going was that it was going to be a pandantic treatise on the righteous victimization-hood of Ukraine by evil mother Russia. And certainly the lines between the good and bad players are drawn; however, through the lens of Olga's life and present eccentricities, we get the point and we see the nuances, too.
I did not recognize the actor, Suli Holum who plays the Daughter--a blatant representative for the playwright, Sasha. She is even called Sasha in the play, though listed as the Daughter in the credits. She opens the play and often acts as the narrator bridging the lapses in time (both moving forward and backward). Her presence and physicality were seamlessly engaging. She was unapologeticly the fulcrum that held the balance of the story in a tender equilibrium. Whenever things appeared to going off script, off kilter, off planet, she took the ball and brought it back on court.
Lindsay Smiling, in the role of "Man" started his tenure on stage as Olga's current husband--and quickly he became a kaleidoscope of other "men" in her life, other men in her fantasy life, (and at a couple of points even Olga's mother). A fantasy life painted for her by her daughter. Smiling when from an old lady to a hipster avant guarde film director, to the leaders of Germany, France, and, yes, even Biden--but wait! there's more--an alien overlord from outer space and finally the divinity himself, God. He was an amazing "Jack of all Roles".
And then there's Holly Twyford. The moment I opened the leaflet (no program--shit.) and saw that she was the lead my whole body took on a different air. A sense that whatever was to come, it would be amazing. And it absolutely was. Twyford is one of the standout actors in the DMV. Whatever she chooses to do, it will be done without hesitation and with a degree of authenticity that dissipates whatever she's done before with the wonder of this new thing, this utterly new person. That she was in an ensemble with such excellent supporting players created a synergy for theatre at its apex.
All around one of the those nights that reminds you just how relevant, engaging, and magical live theatre can be.
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