Review: Mad Cow's PAINTING CHURCHES is a Touching 'Memory' Play with a Top-Notch Cast

"Last scene of all,/ That ends this strange eventful history,/ Is second childishness and mere oblivion,/ Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

PAINTING CHURCHES, running through March 20th at the Mad Cow Theatre, is a memory play, but not in the way that THE GLASS MENAGERIE is. Instead, this play is about how people remember things from their past, and often how they forget them. Whether it is due to repression or dementia, or lasting importance or momentary bliss, what we forget and what we remember shapes everything that we think and feel about our lives.

In Tina Howe's play, directed by Tony Simotes, a cast of three superbly talented actors is given the ability to explore complex, multi-dimensional characters. As the one major constant in their life is disappearing, this affluent family of three is forced to deal with painful truths, both new and old. Often this leads to characters having momentary fits that seem completely at odds with the personalities that we have seen thus far. While at first the inconsistencies of character can be jarring, as we begin to see more of these incredibly authentic relationships, it becomes clear that their inconsistencies are what makes these characters real. In a family that obviously shares so much love, each member feels secure enough to vent their anger; if we can't be childish and ugly with our families, who can we be childish and ugly with?

As her parents, Fanny and Gardner Church (Kate Young and Scott Stoney), are packing to move from their stately Boston home to a small cottage in the country, New York artist and teacher Mags (Ame Livingston) returns for the first time in over a year to help box up the only home that she's ever known.

While the rooms and decorations are familiar, her parents are not. Gone are her poet laureate father and her high society mother. In their place are a doddering old man and a frustrated caretaker. Gardner's growing memory issues have become a strain on the family's finances forcing their move out of town. However, before they say goodbye, Mags wants to paint her parents in their home for posterity.

As the trio prepares for both the move and the sitting, they reminisce about the best and worst of times in the house. Not surprisingly, not everyone remembers the events the same way, if at all.

Young and Stoney, who have worked together a number of times in the past, have an uncanny chemistry on stage. Their characters share a relationship that feels lived in for the past four decades, and both the characters and the actors seem to have a shorthand that is beautiful to watch. While these expert actors are extremely powerful in the show's more emotional scenes, they are ever more entertaining when they are being silly together; the way that only a couple who has been in love for two-thirds of their lives can be.

Young's Fanny shows both remarkable strength, and oblivious selfishness, while Stoney's Gardner is brilliant and warm, even in his worst moments.

Livingston, who is one of Orlando's most consistently satisfying stage performers, is captivating as the couple's beautiful, free-spirited daughter. Her Mags is full of life and passion, even though it becomes clear that she has not let go of deep-seated traumas from her childhood.

Collectively, the cast is wonderful, and the show is impactful, especially for those who have been witness to a loved one losing grip on his or her memory. Even though the script has some glaring holes, the genuine emotion and talent of the cast makes their impact negligible.

The scenic design and original artwork by Lisa Buck is fantastic. The large windows and bookcase give the space a depth and grandeur that is not easy to achieve in the small Zehngebot-Stonerock Black Box.

PAINTING CHURCHES was a last-minute replacement for the previously announced OUTSIDE MULLINGAR. Mad Cow hopes to produce John Patrick Shanley play in a future season.

Don't miss your chance to see a top-notch cast in this touching family play. To purchase tickets, visit Mad Cow's website or call 407-297-8788.

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Did you visit the Church's Boston home? Let me know what you thought in the comments below, or by "Liking" and following BWW Orlando on Facebook and Twitter by using the buttons below. You can also chat with me about the show on Twitter @BWWMatt. If you want to follow along with my "366 in 366" articles, you can check out #BWW366in366 on Twitter.

Banner Image: Scott Stoney, Kate Young, and Ame Livingston. Photo Credit: Mad Cow Theatre

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