Independance (Profile Theater) Grade C

Directed by Amy Gonzalez

Here is a not at all believable  story of a mother and her three grown daughters in a small Midwestern town. The daughters are suppose to be concerned for their mother’s mental health and how to live their own lives in the face of their mother's erratic behavior. The eldest daughter, a professor and a lesbian, has moved away and not been back for years..now returns believing the middle sister has been badly hurt.  She discovers her sister was not as badly hurt as she had thought she might be and that she is pregnant. The baby sister meanwhile has had a child has been forced (by the oldest sister) to give it away, and is now apparently the town slut, waiting to finish high school and get out of town as soon as she can.  Mom mean while (Jackie Maddux) is mostly sane--but breaks things from time to time. 

Well-what is the 'drama' here?  Mom has already spent a short stint in a 'hospital' for here nutty behavior (again something orchestrated by the eldest sister.  But now, who will take care of her?  That is the drama.  Mom does not want to be left alone Number 1 & Number 3 sisters are clear they are not going to stay with her.  Number 2 sister is torn---pregnant and wanting to marry the child's father..but feeling obliged to stay with mom. She loses her boyfriend and must decide if she will leave with her older sister or 'stay forever' in service to mom.

Well they all see no answer but to walk out and 'abandon' mom. That is where this story falls entirely apart and loses all meaning.  Anyone of us with aging parents knows that making sure they are well situated is a task that, while hard and draining, can be accomplished,  If you have money there is a growing industry emerging to assist you.  So how about assisted living? Never mentioned.  How about seeking help from some of mom's peers (she has lived in this small town all of her life) she must know someone who might be recruited to keep an eye on her. How about taking Mom home with you--rather than be stuck in her home and the small oppressive town?   Ther are options --none necessarily great--but still options that  were not considered here--and that make the story pointless.

The acting was standard--but the play/story is a waste of time.