By Marilyn Jozwik
In “The Treasurer” by Max Posner, Next Act Theatre’s latest offering, a son can’t find it in his heart to love his mother, a feeling that haunts him as his mother drifts into her final years. Cody Estle, Next Act’s artistic director, directs the show.
The journey that this son and his two siblings travel as their mother slips away is expertly portrayed by a quartet of performers and is wonderfully staged by Next Act.
A store salesman (David Flores) is pleased to sell Ida (Annabel Armour) a $700 pillow.
Reese Madigan plays The Son. Through a several-minute opening monologue, in which Madigan grabs hold of the audience and never lets go, we learn that he is basically happy, despite some family baggage. His family includes his playwright son, who wants to write about The Son’s “delusional” mother. And what follows is that play.
So much takes place in that opening frame that theater-goers should be fully engaged from the get-go. Madigan’s engaging performance will make that easy. It is in those early moments we learn that his mother left the family for another man when The Son was 13, which left him with emotional scars that have been bandaged through the years. Through The Son’s musings – much of which occur while he’s riding his bicycle – we learn that the bandages have been ripped off and those feelings have resurfaced now that his mother’s second husband has died, leaving her penniless and in slowly declining health.
The Son’s two siblings agree that he should be the mother’s financial caretaker and his first order of business is finding a new home for her. She insists on moving to an expensive senior community and gets her way even though The Son says, “She doesn’t deserve it.” He must perform all the unsavory tasks, like telling her that her 14-year-old dog must be put down and trying to reign in her rampant spending, money which is coming out of his pocket. “She shouldn’t be donating MY money to the symphony,” he bemoans when he learns of the $3,000 gift.
Annabel Armstrong and Alexis Green in a scene from Next Act’s “The Treasurer.”
As his mother’s dementia worsens, so does her spending – such as a $700 pillow – and the contentious phone conversations elevate between her and The Son. Anyone who’s had to deal with aging parents will find many points that resonate with them.
Annabel Armour is marvelous as she portrays the aging mother, whose behavior becomes more erratic as the story progresses. You can see Ida’s feisty nature through Armour’s portrayal and how that spirit turns into childlike tantrums as she realizes her faculties are receding. It is at times comical and at times sad – but Armour always solicits an emotion. The hardest part is watching as Ida’s dignity starts to slip away.
Alexis Green and David Flores are wonderful as The Son’s siblings and several other roles. I especially enjoyed Green as she portrayed a Talbot’s store salesperson. Her expressions and casual comments during Ida’s ramblings are pitch perfect. Flores, too, gives each role a distinct characterization.
The scenes are short and digestible, Next Act using lighting and simple props to create store shops, Ida’s apartment, an airplane cabin, an elevator and others. In one of the show’s final scenes, we see Ida and her son in a beautifully created, colorful Chinese restaurant set that silently opens up from the back of the stage and glides forward with Ida and her son sitting and eating at a table. The conversation is minimal, but you can sense The Son’s discomfort. The detail and clarity of the set seem to indicate how clearly and vividly The Son recalls the meeting – perhaps his last -- and his realization that he will never love his mother leading to his sense of guilt.
I love some of the techniques, such as the cross-talking, as when Ida is trying to understand her children’s conversation but their words sound in a torrent to her aging mind. Also effective are the intense, dramatic music and sounds that come from everywhere, helping to give more emotional depth to each scene.
If you go:
Who: Next Act Theatre
What: “The Treasurer”
When: Through May 19
Where: 255 S. Water St., Milwaukee
Tickets: 414-278-0765; nextact.org