By Scott Barbarino***Actress Karin Trachtenberg‘s My Mother Had Two Faces: Reflections on Beauty, Aging, and Acceptance, an autobiographical one-woman dramatic comedy performed at United Solo, was a wonderfully constructed and beautifully executed show that takes a very deep dive into a much less than perfect mother and daughter relationship.
In the show, Trachtenberg tears away the mask of the perfect mother. The final reconciliation, which takes place on an ethereal plane, made this therapeutic theater quite satisfying. Getting there was quite triggering though, at least it was to me, but in the end I found the production very cathartic.
Trachtenberg is an incredible actress who played both parts, hers and her mothers, to perfection. Not a line, movement or motion on stage was wasted. One of these touches that was a gem—and particularly visibly poignant and perfect—was in a shawl that she wore over her shoulders, but then moved down and arranged so that it looked as if it was her mother’s hand. Finally, the shawl/hand gently slipped from hers, representing her mother passing (from Alzheimer’s). This scene was one among many strong choices that were all excellent; kudos to her director Jessica Lynn Johnson for bringing out this strong, nuanced and moving performance.
Thank you Betsyann Faiella (the show’s publicist) for putting this play before my eyes. I got very lucky with my mother ,who was stunningly beautiful and loving, and I have no complaints; but seeing this performance gave me more perspective into where she and other moms might have been coming from and dealing with raising children in the ’50s and ’60s society.
