Mama is up early to prepare an important meal, and even with her family on hand to help, time is running short. Tensions simmer with three generations of Tucker women under one roof, but things come to a boil as the violence hovering around the periphery of their lives begins to intrude upon the sanctity of Mama’s kitchen.
Zora Howard is off to a great year with this incredible theatrical performance I had the pleasure of experiencing this past weekend. After I got a sneak peek at her new film, “Premature,” to be released this month in which she co-wrote and stars in, I was excited to see what else she had in store. As I was thinking about her film, I received a surprise email with an invite to her Off-Broadway play, so you can’t even imagine how excited I am to tell you all about it.
“Stew” centers around four female characters, and like the women in my family Mama, (Portia) and her daughters, Lillian (Nikkole Salter) and Nelly (Toni Lachelle Pollitt), all have intricate relationships with one another that unravels as they help make Mama’s famous stew one Saturday morning. The kitchen is the centerpiece and a place where memories are created, but it’s also where the unveiling of suppressed anger, resentment and family secrets emerge. As Mama struggles with her memory that comes and goes, she learns the real reason Lillian has returned home with her children. With a marriage on the rocks and a secret affair, Lillian expresses guilt as she listens to Mama reveal her own marriage struggles she’s kept hidden for years.
While little sister Nelly dreams of leaving homes with her new boyfriend, it appears staying to watch after Mama is her only setback, but she, like the others, has a shocking confession of her own. As the first batch of stew is ruined and they start from scratch, the conversation deepens and the tension elevates. Lillian’s daughter Lil’ Mama (Kristin Dodson) questions the true meaning of love as she witnesses her parents’ break and her mother run off to another man.
I love this story, it grabs you and brings you back to your own family where you relate to the struggle of each character. It opens conversation between women regarding issues of aging, difficult marriages and how to continue to love when things fall apart. These are topics many women are still not open about amongst each other and I thought this play did a great job in recognizing this. The cast is superb, a perfect blend of amazing talent that I can’t wait to see more of. I want to point out the set for a moment, and I know this is something rarely praised but it definitely should be. As I sat down in my seat I looked on stage and thought “Wow, who did this?” Set Designer Lawrence E. Moten III brought me back to my childhood with the most amazing set. I truly felt like I’ve lived in that home and it was absolutely perfect. You are definitely going to love this play, you will laugh a lot, you will cry and you as I will patiently wait for Zora’s next masterpiece.
Now performing at the Walkerspace Theatre in New York for a limited run thru Saturday, February 22nd
