Mud by Maria Irene Fornes

Another case of the title telling the story, as I left the theater with no clear understanding of what the play was about or what message the playwright was trying to convey. Kudos to the cast, who did their best without any clear sense of direction, much like the soldiers in basic training in the Bill Murray film Stripes. My biggest complaint was the constant repeating of the same song - through pre-show and during every scene changes. You can't tell me that was the only period song you could find. This show needs work.... full review

*This review first appeared in the LA Weekly* There’s a certain fragility mixed with permanence in Maria Irene Fornes’ melancholy tragedy Mud, and the characters seem to exist beyond the performance that unfolds before us. In seventeen short (sometimes brutally short) scenes, Fornes depicts a squabbling couple, Lloyd (Riley Smith) and Mae (Annie Hamilton), who seem stuck in some kind of rural poverty. While Lloyd appears slightly mentally retarded, Mae is merely illiterate and wants to better herself and get out. Her romance with unsympathetic local fellow Henry (A.J. Helfet) sparks jealousy from Lloyd. But then the worm turns… Director Shaya Mulcahy’s slightly stylized approach has the cast members remaining in character during the dim “bla... full review