Tag Archives: Melinda Lopez

“Nobody Teaches You How To Do The Big Stuff”

Melinda Lopez In Mala
At The Huntington

Reviewed by Bobby Franklin

Melinda Lopez
Photo Credit: Paul Marotta

Watching the Huntington Theatre’s production of Mala, written and performed by Melinda Lopez, was a very emotionally stirring experience. The one actor play about Ms Lopez’s experiences dealing with the failing health and impending death of her 92 year old mother is an honest depiction of what many of us have, or will have to face with an aging parent. It is also a stark reminder of what awaits us as we age. It is not a pretty picture, and fortunately, this play does not romanticize dying. If this sounds pretty bleak it is, but the play is not.

Oh, it is tough stuff to have to think about, and as Ms Lopez points out so well throughout the play, we don’t pick up great wisdom from the dying. They are usually very angry and the caregivers are exhausted. The endless calls to 911, the verbal nastiness, the hard decisions, and feelings of guilt are all real and put in front of us. The play also has much humor in it. I wouldn’t call it gallows humor, but rather the laughter people break into at times when it seems all has gone wrong and helplessness has set in. You know, it is okay to laugh when bad things are happening. We are reminded of that while watching Mala.

Melinda Lopez is simply wonderful. Her work is wonderful. Her acting is wonderful.

The events in the play took place during the terrible Boston winter of 2015, the year of Snowmageddon. As her mother began to deteriorate physically and mentally Ms Lopez kept notes in an App on her iPhone. She did not do this with the thought of writing a play, but rather as a way to let off steam. When she later read the notes she was inspired to write this story. It is so good she did.

Mala is not Ms Lopez’s mother’s name, rather it is a Spanish word that means a person is bad. Not just bad but bad deep down in her soul. Her mother would shout that at her when she was upset. It is not uncommon for an ailing parent to lash out at a son or daughter when they are nearing the end. It is very unpleasant and hurtful, but understandable when you think about how helpless and hopeless we become at that stage in our existence. Never the less, it is awful to deal with.

Melinda Lopez
Photo Credit: Paul Marotta

Along the way Ms Lopez also touches on her father’s dying as well as sharing brief stories of other’s who have gone through similar experiences. As she moves about the stage relating her story I felt as if she was talking directly to me, and I am sure the other audience members felt the same way. Her honesty and straightforwardness come through clearly while never turning to self pity. The anger, the guilt, the second guessing are all brought out.

Near the end of the performance Ms Lopez talks about having her mother put under Hospice care. This touched me as it is a hard reality to face when you know the person you love is not going to get better. There is now a time frame. Of course, as Melinda Lopez points out, we have all started dying, but when you can begin to measure the time that is left it becomes very different.

In one very funny part of the play Ms Lopez talks about one of the times her nerves were frazzled from dealing with her mother. She started thinking about how she heard that Eskimos, or was it Inuits?, would set their elderly parents adrift on an iceberg to be rid of them. It is quite humorous as she tells it, but it also is a reminder of the terrible guilt a person can feel as the thought of wanting the suffering to end gets tied into the wish to see your parent die. Those thoughts are so painful.

I hope I haven’t painted too bleak a picture of this wonderful performance. You will not be sitting in the theater crying. In fact, you will spend quite a bit of time laughing. But, you will leave the theater thinking about what it means to get old and what lies ahead for many of us. It is something we should be as honest about as Melinda Lopez is.

It is so often I read about how courageously a person has faced illness and death, and we like to think of it happening that way. The reality is different. I know that as I was leaving the theater I was thinking of some of the words Ms Lopez spoke. She spoke of how dying does not make us wise. You don’t learn from the dying. They are angry, they can be mean. And most importantly “Nobody teaches you how to do the big stuff.”

Do not be afraid to see this play. Melinda Lopez is simply wonderful. Her work is wonderful. Her acting is wonderful. Her honesty and openness about this subject is welcomed and you will appreciate it. Mala touched me deeply. It stirred my emotions and brought back difficult memories, but I am so glad I got to experience this fine work. While it is true nobody teaches you the big stuff, it is nice to know we are not alone in going though such events. Thank you Melinda Lopez for sharing experiences.

Mala
Extended through February 4
The Huntington Theatre Company
At The Calderwood Pavillon
Boston’s South End
huntingtontheatre.org
617.266.0800

A Moving Look At The Challenges Of Being Kind

Grand Concourse

SpeakEasy Stage

Through April 1st

Reviewed by Bobby Franklin

You will be deeply moved by what you see.

The SpeakEasy production of Grand Concourse by Heidi Schreck now playing at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston’s South End is one of those truly wonderful theatre experiences that touches on so many emotions.

Oscar, Shelly, Emma, and Frog.
Photo Credit: Glenn Perry

There are four characters in this play that takes place in the food preparation area of a soup kitchen in the Bronx. As the play progresses the depth and struggles of each of these individuals becomes more apparent. It is impossible to watch this work and not become emotionally invested in each one of them.

Shelly, played by Melinda Lopez, is the Catholic nun who runs the kitchen. She is committed to her work but is having doubts about her faith and purpose. She practices praying while using a microwave timer. Shelly is a kind and compassionate human being, but is that enough and  what does it mean to be compassionate? Melinda Lopez brings depth and warmth to Shelly. I felt I had known her for years.

One day Emma, a college drop out, stops by and offers to volunteer. At first she seems like a young person who wants to do something good, but as the play progresses we see there is much more going on with her. Played by the very talented Ally Dawson, Emma is very manipulative and makes things quite difficult for the others. She also accomplishes much good while pushing the others to the limits of their compassion. Ms Dawson handles this very complex character perfectly. It is an emotional roller coaster watching her, and I have to say I felt drained by her actions. However, it  me feel good in the sense that I was forced to look more deeply into someone whom it would have been very easy to write off as superficial and self absorbed.

Frog and Oscar
Photo Credit: Glenn Perry

Thomas Derrah plays Frog a homeless man who has been a regular at the soup kitchen for some time. In between telling and selling jokes to the others, he also spins his philosophy on life and insights into people and society. I have seen Mr. Derrah perform for more years than I would like to admit, and I have to say it would be a challenge to find an actor who can match him for how consistently good he is. He certainly does not disappoint here. He makes many entrances and exits in the course of this production and each one is fresh and outstanding.

Oscar, played by Alejandro Simoes, is the maintenance man. He is funny and kind. Oscar was a dental student in his native Dominican Republic and is now struggling to put a life together in the United States and marry his girlfriend Rosa. At first he appears to be a fairly light character, but Mr. Simoes treats us to a man who has weaknesses and conflict but is filled with decency. He truly touches us with his goodness.

Shelly and Emma
Photo Credit: Glenn Perry

Grand Concourse easily could have been a very predictable and formulaic work about people helping people and getting caught up with the conflicts in their own lives. At first I thought that’s where it was going. What author Heidi Schreck has given us is a play that goes much deeper than that. I was very moved by this play. It compelled me to ask  what it means to have compassion and what the limits are to it. The Catholic social activist Dorothy Day once said her purpose was to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Well, it’s not always easy to tell who is afflicted and who is comfortable.

The SpeakEasy Stage has done it again and this is a play not to be missed.

I have to admit I left the theatre emotionally spent. It was an amazing afternoon watching terrific actors working with a fine script that was well directed and staged beautifully. I highly recommend Grand Concourse. The SpeakEasy Stage has done it again and this is a play not to be missed. You will be deeply moved by what you see.

Grand Concourse

Directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary

Through April 1st

The SpeakEasy Stage
At The Calderwood Pavillon
South End, Boston

speakeasystage.com

617.933.8600