La Mama Earth Presents

THIS IS MARY BROWN

La Mama First Floor Theatre
74a East 4th St.
NY NY 10003
14-28 June 2015

Written and Performed by Winsome Brown
Directed by Brad Rouse

Mary Brown was a character. With her sharp tongue and clever observations, it is natural that her daughter would enjoy playing her. Winsome Brown is a lovely, talented actress, and although I never saw the actual Mary Brown, my guess is that Winsome is a talented mimic as well. Her Mary is a delightful and moving person. Watching her navigate marriage, motherhood and drinking made me feel as if I had not only met, but actually knew her.

In THIS IS MARY BROWN, there are a lot of characters other than Mary and her daughter, and as talented as Winsome is, it is not possible to make each character memorable other than that they were not Mary or Winsome. The play needed more of the core relationship and less of the tertiary characters. Also, Mary’s alcoholism was never obviously a problem, other than people saying she drank too much. There were no stories of how it endangered her relationships or made it difficult for her to function.

The lights, set and blocking were perfect for navigating this one-woman show.

- Jean Tait -