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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2015)
January 30, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 11A ‘Life gets messy. Let’s show it.’ Coaster Theatre presents ‘’night, Mother,’ a drama about suicide and choice By Erick Bengel Cannon Beach Gazette Jessie Cates has severe epilep- sy. She can’t keep a job and lives with her mother out in the country. Her father is dead, her husband has divorced her, and her son is a ju- venile delinquent. But, now in her 40s, she has reached a point where her medications seem to be work- LQJ6KH¶V¿QDOO\FOHDUKHDGHG So, one day, Jessie announces to her mother, Thelma Cates, that she plans to kill herself. This is the set-up for “’night, Mother,” Marsha Norman’s Pu- litzer Prize-winning drama that opens at the Coaster Theatre Jan. 30 and runs through Feb. 21. “It’s just so well crafted — oh my gosh, so well written,” said Margaret Page, who plays 7KHOPD ³,W¶V GH¿QLWHO\ JRLQJ WR prompt discussion.” Early on, in fact, Page’s participation in the play provoked a conversation with a “card-carrying Catholic” friend about Oregon’s Death with Digni- ty Act, she said. ³¶QLJKW 0RWKHU´ ¿UVW SHU- formed in 1983, is disturbing and unforgettable because it presents suicide not merely as a tragedy but as a choice — as a reasoned deci- sion, said Sheila Shaffer, director of the Coaster production. Jessie’s decision is “not being LQÀXHQFHGE\GHSUHVVLRQRUSK\V- ical pain,” she said. On the con- trary: Jessie looks at her life objec- tively, sees where it is going and simply chooses to discontinue it. Death with dignity One of the reasons “’night, Mother” deserved the Pulitzer, Shaffer said, is that the characters, two strong-willed women, make compelling arguments. Some au- dience members may be put off by Jessie’s uncomfortably persuasive case for suicide. Jessie, played by Ann Bronson, “has a monologue where she says she’s been waiting for the person she was supposed to grow up to be, and that person never came,” Shaffer said. GEORGE VETTER PHOTO Ann Bronson, left, and Margaret Page, right, star in the Coaster Theatre’s production of “‘night, Mother” as Jessie Cates and Thelma Cates, respectively. The play, which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for drama, presents suicide not just as a tragedy but as a choice. It is not for younger audiences. In “‘night, Mother,” the charac- ter Jessie Cates, played by Ann Bronson, left, announces to her mother, Thelma Cates, played by Margaret Page, right, that she doesn’t want to live any- more. Marsha Norman’s play, running at the Coaster Theatre, won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for drama. GEORGE VETTER PHOTO Thelma feels responsible for Jesse’s decision and tries to talk her daughter out of it. But Jessie tries to convince her mother that it’s nobody’s decision but her own. “It wasn’t a decision that she’s come to overnight. This is something she’s been thinking about.” “A mother’s love is an elemen- tal force, and a mother wants the best for her children,” Page said. “It’s just that, sometimes, what the parents want isn’t necessarily what the child wants.” As “’night, Mother” — which takes place in real time — pro- ceeds toward its climax, Thelma watches helplessly as her daugh- ter’s behavior grows increasingly alarming. Jessie, she realizes, is not crying out for help but is on a mission: She is determined to take control over a life that has, until now, offered her very little control. “It’s going to make people think. It’s going to make people feel,” Page said. Light and dark Shaffer, a 13-year Coaster vet- eran, played Thelma in graduate school. When she heard the Coaster’s program committee had select- ed “’night, Mother” for its 2015 season, “I was like, ‘Oh – my – God,’” she said, laughing. “I couldn’t even imagine myself get- ting into that headspace again.” Her personal connection to the play is partly why Patrick Lath- rop, the theater’s executive direc- tor, asked Shaffer to direct it: She already knew the play well and “had a sensitivity toward it,” Lath- rop said. “It takes you on a personal journey that turns you inside out,” Shaffer said. “You really have to question and think about what you would do in this situation ... and the emotions are high.” “’night, Mother,” — which ODWHUEHFDPHD¿OPVWDUULQJ Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft as Jessie and Thelma, respective- ly — is traditionally staged as a one-act. But Shaffer said she will have an intermission at roughly the 45-minute mark, making the full show almost two hours. Lathrop admits that the play will not be everyone’s cup of tea. He won’t be surprised if there’s at least one walk-out during inter- mission, he said. The subject may be one that some folks in the au- dience either aren’t ready to deal with or have dealt with and would rather not do so again. For people who have faced suicide in one form or another, it may be too triggering. They may say, “‘That’s just way too close to home,’” Shaffer said. But others who have consid- ered or attempted suicide, or expe- rienced someone they love do the same, may say, “‘I can totally re- late, and I’m so glad they’re writ- ing something about this, because this will help people understand what I went through.’” To be clear, though: “’night, Mother” isn’t a play with uninter- rupted despair. Like most engag- ing scripts, it contains scenes of joy and love and laughter — like when mother and daughter just sit down and drink hot cocoa togeth- er, she said. “There (have) to be moments of levity. There (have) to be mo- ments of tenderness in between the moments of crying and grief and anger, because that makes the happiness even better and the grief even more devastating,” she said. “You need the dark in order for the light to shine through,” Lath- rop said. “Most aspects of life have both dark and light qualities, so, therefore, most plays do also.” AARON LARGET-CAPLAN Classical guitarist to perform at Coaster International classical guitarist Aar- on Larget-Caplan will perform at the Coaster Theatre on Valentine’s Day. His program, “Of Dreams and Love,” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 in the theater. An avid solo and chamber music performer, Larget-Caplan’s perfor- mances combine traditional expressive- ness with contemporary passion. He gave his debut performance at age 15 and has since premiered over 50 com- positions throughout the United States, Italy and Russia. Formerly on the facul- ty of the Boston Conservatory, he now teaches at the University of Massachu- setts Boston. Tickets are $15 and $20. To purchase WLFNHWV FDOO WKH ER[ RI¿FH DW 1242 or check the website at www. coastertheatre.com The concert is sponsored through the city’s tourism and arts fund, which is administered by the Cannon Beach Tourism and Arts Commission. Empathy Why should anyone see this play? The answer, Shaffer said, is empathy. “People should go see it to have a better understanding about how to deal with their fellow hu- man beings, and their own fami- ly members sometimes,” Shaffer said. “How can you form an opin- ion about a subject matter like sui- cide unless you know the full story and you know the entire reasoning behind somebody’s decision? It’s not something to be taken lightly.” Page considers a good play one that “provides you with a take- away. And the takeaway, in my opinion, from ‘’night, Mother’ is that you can never really know the people around you. You can only love and forgive them. And, I think, in that respect, it’s almost an inspiration.” The purpose of theater is “to PDNHXVUHÀHFWRQOLIHUHÀHFWRQ our lives,” Lathrop said. “Life gets messy,” Shaffer said. “Let’s show it.” Social Security workshop set A workshop to help potential retirees learn about Social Security and maximize retirement income is set for March 3. 7KH ZRUNVKRS ZLOO EHJLQ DW SP LQ the South County center of Clatsop Com- munity College, 1455 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside. It will cover several topics, including: ZKHQWRDSSO\IRUEHQH¿WVKRZWRHVWLPDWH EHQH¿WVKRZWRPLQLPL]HWD[HVRQ6RFLDO 6HFXULW\ EHQH¿WV DQG KRZ WR FRRUGLQDWH Social Security with other sources of re- tirement income. Coastal Advantage In “THE COURTYARD” @ 219 N. 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