Ni Mi Madre.

"Ni Mi Madre' (which has been extended through September 25th) has a lot of good, bad and ugly to it. In one hour we get to know Bete, the mother of writer and solo performer Arturo Luis Soria. In this sixty minutes we get to see the life of a woman who has been through many ups and downs of what life has to offer. She grapples with the secrets that tear her and her son apart, the unbidden memories of her estranged mother and the traditions that keep them apart. The play further explores the intersection of queerness and Latindad; examines to a small degree gender, sexuality. and citizenship. i think the play has more to do with identity: hers and Arturo's as well as past husbands. Although other family members are mentioned, the play lays bare the secrets, memories, fears of raising a family and getting by in her world that is at hand.

With relentless energy, Soria moves about the stage like a whirlwind, dancing, prancing and strutting her stuff. From the beginning when she/he enters in a skirt that becomes a dress, Soria is comfortable in the role and camps it up. She has a grandiose opinion of herself... she was Angelina Jolie before Angelina Jolie, could have been Madonna and her Doctor husband is both stupid and boring. She has champagne taste on a beer budget and all the children who are talented and good looking take after her. The three husbands are all to blame and her drinking and pill habit is nothing to even mention in her world.

The play has some somber moments, funny moments and heart felt moments as well. Some of the jokes fall flat as does moments that are supposed to be poignant, here Soria tries to hard for the dramatic swing. The show has too much Spanish language in it for those who do not speak Spanish. Under Danilo Gambini, we get enough of the good stuff to make this play worthwhile. Gambini and lighting designer Krista Smith give the audience the right mood swings and the show ebbs and flows in a quick hour.

The plays essence, however, is many fold and if you don't pay attention it will pass you by. How has Bete's mother affected her? Is mental instability among the woman of her family? Just how bad of a mother was she that Arturo wanted to live with his father? If the dad hated homosexuality, why would he even consider living with his dad? How deep are her wounds in life? As one explores this, the play gets deep and psychological and that's where the interest in the play lies. If this play had a second act and examined this more deeply it could go to a whole other level. It doesn't and what we have is a woman who is quirky but somewhat loveable, infallible and at times down right scary.

In mothering, we can also only assume how she was raising her children; after all, she learned parenting by watching Meryl Streep in movies. When all else failed she beat them with her shoes or anything else that would hurt. To her, physical violence is the way to go in her book, not to give "time outs" like the Americans do. A "time out is weak and children will never respect you". A husband too cannot push you around. To her it is a man's world and woman need to push back in her view. Again, the playwright should have, but didn't expound on this view of hers.

Although we never get the full story behind Bete, we can only surmise many things; things that would have been better if they were presented more clearly to the audience.

Bete is a no nonsense woman, having had her mother be confused in Brazil for being her nanny, Bete learned at a young age not to take anyone's crap. She is a fighter but clearly has not learned to pick her battles. How deeply did it affect her children? Soria never makes it clear enough to us, like her sex life, we are always unfulfilled watching the play.