By Bart Greenberg***Playwright Nancy Redman recently revived her semi-autobiographical one-person play A Séance With Mom, which she wrote and starred in for 18 performances only at the Chain Studio Theatre. Directed with a light touch by 
Austin Pendleton, the drama (and despite some of the promotional material, it is definitely a drama) explores the mind of a troubled middle-aged woman, Nadine, a hoarder fighting multiple sclerosis and needing answers about a long-ago trauma from her deceased mother.
She has been praying for a conversation with her mother, and her prayers are unexpectedly answered when she awakens in her apartment from a nap to discover an elderly rabbi sitting across from her. Or perhaps the ghost of an elderly Jew. Even though Jews don’t believe in seances, his being a member of a Reform community somehow makes it okay. (Some of the mechanics in the show are best not examined too closely.) He is there to act as a channel to the other side, though his expertise is less than assured, This is his first “job” and in that he bears a bit of a resemblance to the angel Clarence from It’s a Wonderful Life. With a Yiddish accent (that he could easily be played by the director with a bit of Dr. Ruth thrown in, isn’t a stretch of the imagination).
Complicating the matter is the arrival of two other women with the same name as Nadine’s mother, Flossie Plotnick, each of whom actually have something to contribute to the life of the younger woman, even though what they have to say is not what she wants at that moment. Later, the real Flossie Plotnick’s canasta partner shows up for a few surprising and humorous turns.
The show could use a few more moments of this type of absurdity to counteract the darkness of the rest. One of the outstanding aspects of the production is Redman’s ability to find a clear voice and attitude for each of these characters without slipping into caricature. Considering she remains seated behind a small table for the entire program and can’t rely on too much physicality to distinguish the people she summons, makes this feat even more impressive. The audience is never confused about who is on stage at any moment.
The script, while inventive and continuously surprising, could use some judicious trimming, especially in the latter part of the show where things get repetitive. The choice is for dramatic reasons, but still dampens the tension rather than strengthening it. Even with this issue, there is a great to enjoy here, from some true wit (“reality is over-rated”) to interesting character observations (Nadine is “married to her past”) to a lovely rendition of “If Love Were All.” Despite the flaws, this is one séance worth attending.
Photos by Jonathan Slaff
