REVIEW: My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion (Woolly Mammoth)
Preview: Month 19! Give it up for month 19! The Russian invasion of Ukraine has dominated the global news cycle, especially down here in the DC, for more than a year and a half now. In a city by, for, and of political stressors*, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy’s face has been plastered onto stickers and t-shirts at farmer’s markets and tchotchke shops at rates not seen since the heyday of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. As fired up as the political center-left of our fair city is about it, at the end of the day, it’s a brutal, senseless conflict that continues to sap the energy of both the average newsreader and European power dynamics (literally). It was only a matter of time before the DC theater industrial complex got its hands on it; and who better than Woolly Mammoth? Via the hands of Kyivian playwright Sasha Denisova (with translation help from set designer Misha Kachman), we’ve finally got My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion, a parable of surviving war(s) in Europe by simply being the Main Character.
Book: Less of a story in the traditional sense, consider Invasion more of a revue featuring the misadventures of one woman’s mother who, despite everything, continues to live in Kyiv. Frankly, it was much more humorous than I was expecting. Denisova deconstructs the conflict and her mom’s existence under duress with tremendous comedic flair, to the point that the war itself is merely a background character. The work is much more about My Mama than it is about the Full-Scale Invasion. As of the start of the play, it is present-day, and bombs continue to pelt the neighborhood. Mama (real name Olga) lives with her Nth-husband Igor, who does errands like going to get groceries and medicines under the real threat of destruction. The thing about Olga is, after living through World War II and the Soviet Union, this ain’t her first rodeo. Daughter narrates her mother’s experiences to us, often within the context itself, “imagining” increasingly farfetched scenarios in which Mama puts her fiery sensibilities onto (Macron, Schultz, Biden, and The Putin walk into a bar…). Hotheaded, witty, and cosmic, Denisova ideates her mother into digital fantasies with aplomb. You never really seem to know where the story will take us, or which scenario she’ll end up in, or which Man (there’s only one male actor to play each male role) will show up next. But rest assured they’re always treats, whether she destroys drones with “expendable” pickle jars or demands divine intervention from the heavens itself. I left pretty convinced that she actually could take on the full-scale invasion herself. 9/10
Acting: DC theatre legend Holly Twyford is utterly dominant as Olga/Mother. Commanding the stage from the very first moment, she exudes a crass confidence against powers beyond her control, powering the building alone with her own metaphysical energy. This is especially contrasted with the disappointingly stale Daughter (Suli Holum), who tries to match her Mama’s humor and affability but consistently is outshined. Increasingly overwhelmed with responsibility is Lindsay Smiling, who evolves from merely “Igor” to nearly every other Man in the show. He handles it enjoyably, as his silly grandpa-like antics melt into an ironic “over-it” attitude by his fifth-or-so character change. 8/10
Production: The centerpiece of this production is Kachman’s rotating Kyivian cube apartment, which is utilized creatively to adjust the mood of scenes and create dynamism. To the sides of the cube are forgettable alcoves of props, such as a seldom-used CRT TV and a microphone where Daughter narrates from. While Venus Gulbranson’s lighting designs never sit still, what grows increasingly engaging is Ivania Stack’s costuming, getting more absurd and entertaining with each new line. Kelly Coulburn’s projections are comedy of their own type, supplementing the already-inane vignettes. I bet director Yuri Uranov had a great time with this crew to create a show as surprising as this, a Rube Goldberg machine of loud parts and excited transitions. 8/10
VisDev: Pre-show staging, show marketing, and program art leave a lot to be desired. The latter two provide this near-noir grit, often depicting Mama in a tank-top with a cigarette and the Ukraine flag painted on her forehead. It’s conflictingly drab when you understand her personality so much more in the show itself. Pre-show staging injects slightly more energy into one's expectation, though it is a basic screen with a glitchy, Space Invaders-esque green wordmark of the show title. Much like Woolly’s previous production Incendiary, keen viewers will get a hunch that if it’s video game-influenced, things can get ... .erratic. 3/10
