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Regional Reviews: San Francisco Mona Mansour's The Way West Also see Richard's reviews of Fifth of July, Mirandolina! Mistress of a Tuscan Inn and Antigonick
The play centers on Mom (Anne Darragh) and daughters Meesh (Rosie Hallett) and Manda (Kathryn Zdan), who have just lost their home to the bank due to excessive credit card use. Meesh has used Mom's credit card to buy $3500 of Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference skin cream for the hair-brained idea of selling it at a high price on eBay. They are now in the process of filing for Chapter 11 and Manda has come home from her high pressure job in Chicago to help the mother file for liquidation. Manda has her own problems, having maxed out her credit cards trying to live the high life in the Windy City. The play intermingles the three women coming forward to tell stories of the Old West along with an insertion of likeable songs composed by Sam Misner and Megan Pearl Smith that reflect Mom's obsession with the spirit of the pioneer forerunners who came West on their wagon trains. The two daughters play guitar and all three sing. Things ramble off the track of a convincing drama to little songs presented by the three women. There is pathos along with humor—it could even be considered a dark comedy. The mother is an eternal optimist even when her world is about to crash in on her. In the musical scenes she tells how women survived in the 1860s, traveling in covered wagons to find new lands and hope in the western expansion. The actresses all deliver fine performances. Anna Darragh is a delight as Mom. She has great comedic timing as she refuses to be dismayed by bankruptcy. You really feel sorry for the character and you can her frustration. Kathryn Zdan is excellent as the older daughter Manda. She makes sense of the character's development from a calm voice of rationality to a shriek of despair. She is excellent in the scene in which she discovers her credit cards are denied when trying to pay for a pizza. Rosie Hallett excellently plays the younger daughter Meesh who has no sense of morality. Stacy Ross has a small but entertaining part as a whacky, injudicious businessperson involved with a spa where customers are doused with magic water that costs $1100. Hugo E. Carbajal rounds out this cast of excellent actors by playing Luis, a former lover of Manda and the pizza delivery guy. He gives a good performance in both roles. Hayley Finn directs and provides suave transactions between the sitcomish scenes and the musical portions of the production. Geoffrey M. Curley has designed a rundown living room inside the skeleton of a covered wagon. Bottom line, a little more substance is needed for the comedy-drama and less attention to the musical interludes. The Way West runs through May 10th, 2015, at the Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave. Mill Valley. For tickets call 415-388-5208 or visit www.marintheatre.org Coming up next is Choir Boy opening on June 4th and running through June 28th.
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