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| L-R Edythe Jason and Kristin Dodson in Daughters of the Mock |
By Deardra Shuler
Photo supplied by Jonathan Slaff
I took the L Train to First Avenue to
get to Theatre 80 on St Mark's Place where the Negro Ensemble Company
is presenting playwright Judi Ann Mason's play “Daughters of the
Mock,” until June 10, 2017.
Directed by Denise Yvonne Dowse, this
saga is a bit of a puzzle in its complexities. One that perhaps can
only be unraveled by a casting of the runes. Shrouded in mystical
tradition, the play follows the line of the matriarch. It is
Grandmother MauMau who starts the ritual of the Mock, so named, to
represent the grief and suffering MauMau experienced through the
abusive treatment of her husband. A pain she felt so deeply she
attributed it to the suffering all women experience under the
dominance of men. She decides to protect the women in her family
against ill treatment by men, albeit taking it to the extreme.
Skilled in knowledge of herbs with some
voodo thrown in, MauMau (Edythe Jason) keeps the village and her
family in check with the powers she wields, whether by herb,
superstition or by fear. Whichever, her power is as real as those
who believe in it.
Tied together by respect, family, fear
and ritual, MauMau's daughter Oralia (Brenda Crawley) and
granddaughters Amanita and Mandea, portrayed by Kristin Dodson and
Claudia McCoy sacrifice love to keep the family tradition of women
going.
Whether blessing or curse “The Mock”
to the daughters is a yoke, love lost, a grievance they wish to cast
aside but it has become so deeply rooted in family tradition that
despite their struggles against it, they are bound to it. Its curse
mocks them, but despite their heartbreak, inability to break away
from its insidious influence results in deadly outcome.
“Daughters of the Mock” is a drama
filled with mysteries and concealment. The Mock is a family ritual
kept hidden from each daughter in succession until it becomes their
turn to learn of and accept the family's vile secret. Amanita, the
youngest, finds herself visiting home and about to be married when
she is forced to face the Mock, something unknown and unbelievable to
her. Even when her childhood friend Gail, played by Lynne Michelle,
reveals to Amanita (who had been attending college), the village
gossip about MauMau and the lack of male influence, Amanita does not
see the correlation. Although the odd behavior of her sister and
mother give rise to suspicion. However, to Amanita's consternation
and frustration no one in her family will confirm or deny the truth
of the gossip.
It is not for this journalist to
deprive the audience from discovering the secrets hidden within this
production set in Louisiana and wrapped in Creole tradition. Whether
puzzled, confused, intrigued and/or entertained “Daughters of the
Mock,” is worth its unraveling. Go see it!
