Review: The Gamm's GRIZZLY MAMA One to Miss

GRIZZLY MAMA, by George Brant, was written in 2011 at the beginning of the inevitable downswing of the stranglehold Sarah Palin seemed to have on media at the time, and though the program clearly states that any resemblance of the characters in GRIZZLY MAMA to real people is mere coincidence, that's obviously as tongue-in-cheek as the play itself is trying to be. Perhaps this was effective when it first premiered, but the passage of time has eroded the stings and barbs of this satire leaving is as more of a dark comedy without the comedy. With the ludicrous coverage of the coming 2016 election in everyone's face, a play like this just doesn't have any teeth, and it comes off as almost too sloppy and safe.

The play's action revolves around a mother and daughter who have moved to Alaska for reasons that become clear later on. One of the huge plot holes that jumps out right away in the writing is the fact that the teenage daughter seems to have no idea why they moved to Alaska in the first place despite the fact that they seem to have been there for a while. Thankfully her mother explains to her and the audience that they are there to spy on their neighbor Patti "The Patriot" Turnbeck and find a way to kill her. A premise this extreme should be both shocking and uncomfortably hilarious, but sadly, it is neither. It's hard to pin down exactly where the play fails, but a combination of obvious writing and somewhat lackluster delivery doesn't really move the plot along, or help the audience care about the characters.

The main character, Deb, played by the usually wonderful Casey Seymour Kim, grew up during first-wave feminism and was raised by a woman who literally wrote the book on the subject. Her mother wrote a book called "The Female Judas", which is considered canonical in the feminist movement, and now Deb feels that she needs to eliminate Patti "The Patriot" to atone for her choice to become a suburban wife and mother, to "make up for a lifetime of garden parties." This backstory never seems to ring true though, and that leaves the play on shaky footing from the start.

Deb's teenage daughter, Hannah, is played with snark and well-timed eyerolls by Amanda Ruggiero. Hannah has some of the best lines in the play including lamenting that her Alaskan high school teaches "AP Intelligent Design", and spitting out insane text acronyms like TTBSIHILF (the program includes a glossary which says that that means Totally The Best Soup I've Had In My Life). Ultimately, the show is stolen at the end of Act I by the appearance of Laurel played by Betsy Rinaldi.

Laurel is the daughter of Patti "The Patriot", she she seeks out the assistance of Deb and Hannah to help her get an abortion. Rinaldi prances around stage in elaborate winter gear and embodies the guise of a confident millennial who is very used to having people pay attention to her. After an Act I that seems to trudge along, the addition of a third cast member is a breath of fresh air who helps Act II move much faster.

While it could be argued that as this is satirical and dark comedy, the premise should be preposterous and the characters a bit over-the-top in order to drive home the larger point, but this production just never gets there. It's preposterous, but honestly not that preposterous. The over-the-top characters are largely talked about but never seen, which drags the energy way down, despite a talented cast. When Sarah Palin came onto the scene, she seemed to spark a new wave of political craziness that was shocking at the time, but now, unfortunately, it's just par for the course. How then could this play even hope to continue to speak to audiences? Maybe in fifty years this would shock and delight people, but right now it just seems like a mildly amusing slog.

Casey Seymour Kim, Betsy Rinaldi

GRIZZLY MAMA runs through February at the Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St. Pawtucket, RI. Shows 7pm Wednesday-Saturday, Sunday 2 & 7pm. Tickets available at gammtheatre.org or by calling 401-723-4266.

To post a comment, you must register and login.