The Observer, October 14, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 7
Memory of Water a triumph for Theatre Department
We've all felt the feeling: everything is going wrong in your life, and as your mouth begins to form the words "Can it possibly get any worse?" something else goes wrong. Normally, it would be exceedingly rude to laugh at someone at a time like this, but it is humorous to watch if it's not your life that sucks. The Memory of Water – currently being presented at Eldred Hall by the Department of Theater and Dance – started as a play about a family coming together to celebrate their mother's birthday, but when playwright Shelagh Stephenson lost her mother, the theme of the play changed to a funeral. I am not sure the play was originally intended to be a comedy, but the Lawrence Oliver Award for Best Comedy it received in 2000 was well deserved.
The Memory of Water opens when three sisters gather together after their mother has died. In the midst of choosing floral arrangements and planning the funeral, the sisters reminisce about their mother's life as well as their own childhoods. More often than not, they end up remembering the same event differently and fighting over whose memory is right. Most of the humor in the show comes from the constant bickering between the sisters.
In my opinion, what makes this show amazing is how realistic it all is. When the sisters onstage are going through their mother's clothes, each dress brings back a memory about their mother. One of the sisters remembers the smell of their mother's perfume, and it starts a cascade of memories for all of them. Many of the situations in the play triggered personal memories from times when I've lost a loved one.
Jill Smith plays Teresa, the eldest sister. Teresa is somewhat bitter because she had spent months taking care of their mother. Teresa had been there as their mother's Alzheimer's progressed and had to break the news of their mother's death to her sisters.
Mary – played by Kristie Erin Barnes – is the middle child, a successful doctor. Through the course of the play, we learn much about her personal life. Of all of the sisters, Mary undergoes the most change and growth in the play. In her dreams, Mary is visited by her mother.
Considering that auditions for the show occurred on Sept. 6 and 7, director John Jensen brought the show together in roughly half the time it normally takes to mount a production. The show went so smoothly that I never would have guessed that it was put together so quickly. Russ Borski's scenic and lighting designs add the finishing touches to the show.
The Memory of Water runs through Oct. 16 at Eldred Hall on the Case Quad. Student tickets are $5 and are available in advance by calling 368-6262.
