masks

REVIEW:  Karin Trachtenberg’s ‘My Mother Had Two Faces’ examines the woman in the mirror

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

They say beauty is only skin deep.

My Mother Had Two Faces explores beauty in all of its forms and how to accept the person in the mirror including the flaws on both the outside and on the inside.

Written by Karin Trachtenberg in a heartfelt performance and directed and developed by Jessica Lynn Johnson, The Rockwell presented the one woman self reflecting play, My Mother Had Two Faces:  Reflections on Beauty, Aging, and Acceptance live and in person at The Rockwell in Somerville, MA through Sunday, March 3, but this production is currently touring.  Karin will make her next stop at the United Solo Festival at Theatre Row on March 14 in New York City. The show is approximately 60 with no intermission.  Click here for more information and here for further details and for tickets.

Karin Trachtenberg in ‘My Mother Had Two Faces’ Photo credit to Karin Trachtenberg

The magnifying mirror is beauty’s classic frenemy.  It stands out on a vanity counter strewn with jewelry, makeup and all the items it takes for a person to enhance their best features.  The magnifying mirror enlarges all the remarkable parts of the face, but is also unrelenting and unforgiving for all the parts that glaringly need improvement. For Karin’s Swiss mother, it was a beacon of hope and an essential part of her daily routine that gave into an illusion that goes back generations that women must look perfect in today’s society.  As the show most poetically asks, ‘What does it mean to be seen by the envelope and not the letter?’ 

This revelatory production is not just about beauty, but it is a memoir about healing.  As a ritual for Karin’s Buddhist faith, it is a therapeutic journey into the past to get better insight into Karin’s struggles in order to achieve enlightenment.  My Mother Had Two Faces delves into important moments for Karin, her mother, and her family’s history while masking family trauma.

Karin and Lindt chocolate Photo credit to Karin Trachtenberg

Offering free Lindt chocolates as a tribute to Karin’s family heritage, My Mother Had Two Faces is an engaging, bare, honest, and sincere portrayal of the good, the beautiful and the horribly ugly with humor, joy, fear, grace, and anguish in the sting and string of life’s revelations.  Accompanied by slideshows, photos and much more shared through a multimedia screen by 3 Cubed, Karin shares some of her mother’s reflections in a thick and playful Swiss accent and an occasional lighthearted free spiritedness.  Dressed in black, Karin is a blank canvas for her mother and her own various idiosyncrasies, frustrations, hypocrisies, earnest dreams and more.  It is an eye opening journey accompanied only by the wise, sensible, and logical musings of the woman in the mirror exploring her most wonderful and toughest experiences.  Eric Bornstein’s expressive and finely-detailed masks are effective aides during the production with well timed lighting while sound and tech designer Bobby Raps rewinds the clock with a vintage soundtrack that includes the theme song to Mission Impossible and Edith Piaf’s Non je ne regrette rien (No regrets).

Karin Trachtenberg and Eric Bornstein’s masks Photo credit to Karin Trachtenberg

Karin paints a well rounded portrait of her enigmatic and glamorous mother and therefore making invaluable discoveries about herself and her family on this healing journey.  It is funny and moving and may encourage you to take a closer look in the mirror at what makes a person who they are.

Photo credit to Karin Trachtenberg

My Mother Had Two Faces:  Reflections on Beauty, Aging, and Acceptance will next be at the United Solo Festival at Theatre Row on March 14 in New York City. The show is approximately 60 with no intermission.  Click here for further details and for tickets.

REVIEW:  Academy of the Company Theatre’s parody ‘Puffs’ full of lively, enchanted fun

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Those first few chords seem familiar, but no, this is not quite the John Williams classic score about THAT wizard, but another earnest group of wizard hopefuls.  Not quite ‘saint-like,’ but fun loving and enthusiastic underachievers nonetheless.  Some legendary faces appear and make quite an impression, but the Puffs are the real stars.

Full of inside and self aware jokes, 90s pop culture references, chocolate frogs, almost every flavored bean, and not nearly as long as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 and 2 comes Puffs, a spot on parody that tells the epic tale of the seven years Harry Potter attended Hogwarts from the viewpoint of some of the lesser known wizard students that aimed for first, but would also settle for third.  It is a hilarious exploration that is best appreciated by Harry Potter fans due to its share of spoilers, but anyone would enjoy a wealth of improvisational fun and physical humor as well as Dean Palmer Junior’s impressive lighting and special effects.  The introduction of hilarious dragons and haunting dementors are just some of the show’s highlights.

Bath scene. Photo courtesy of Zoe Bradford/Company Theatre

Directed cleverly by Corey Cadigan, Academy of the Company Theatre (ACT) presents Matt Cox’s Puffs for one exclusive weekend from October 22 through October 24 at Company Theatre in Norwell, Massachusetts.  Click here for all of Company Theatre’s upcoming events including a tribute to Jordie Saucerman, Company Theatre’s late co-founder.

The timing is perfect for Puffs as next year marks 25 years since JK’s Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone hit bookshelves in 1997, making the author one of the richest people in the world.  With Harry Potter and the Cursed Child back on Broadway and around the world and Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore slated for next year, Harry Potter remains a phenomenon.

Annie Dunn as Sally Perks and others and Marissa Tolini as Susie Bones and others Photo courtesy of Zoe Bradford/Company Theatre

This is absolutely not a retread of Harry Potter though, but tells a slightly different and more humorous tale along Harry Potter’s timeline.  It is difficult to choose which characters makes the biggest impression because each cast member collaborate so well together and as a big Harry Potter fan, I found myself laughing right through my mask which is required within Company Theatre’s comfortable theatre space.

Brianna Casey as Narrator Courtesy of Zoe Bradford/Company Theatre

Many cast members transfigure into multiple roles as Brianna Casey serves as Puffs scholarly narrator.  Casey’s benevolent and dignified delivery adds gravitas to an often whimsical role, keeping the tale focused as some of the more spontaneous characters could have led the story astray.  Will Moon epitomizes Cedric’s rock star persona and charismatic scene stealer in a dual role and Alex Norton’s Wayne Hopkins is talkative and charming as the tale’s ‘would be’ hero.  Morgan Hurley offers a memorable portrayal of conflicted Megan Jones, a rebel with a chip on her shoulder.  She shares endearing chemistry with Sean Lally as Wayne’s nerdy best friend, Oliver Rogers.

  • Alex Norton as Wayne Hopkins and Will Moon as Cedric Photo courtesy of Zoe Bradford/Company Theatre

Anastasia Ferrera is bubbly and delightful as Leanne among others and James Keyes as goofy J. Finch as well as other roles is often the life of the party.  One of the many collaborative scenes and highlights of the show involve a party with too much butter beer and a familiar sounding 90s dance song.   Some scenes seem a random addition, but are always smartly done.

With intricate, multi-functional sets and props (those wands and that sorting hat!) by Ryan Barrow and colorful, distinctive, and humorously outlandish costumes by John Crampton, Puffs is a lighthearted and wonderful journey while still delivering important life lessons so prevalent in the books such as valuing the power of friendship, dreaming big, and being true to oneself.  It’s a shame the show is only presented for one weekend with a cast that is having so much fun.

Brianna Casey as Narrator and Max Ripley as Ernie Mac and others

Academy of the Company Theatre (ACT) performs parody Puffs through October 24.  Click here for more information and for all of the Company Theatre’s upcoming events.