Modern takes on ‘dark side,’ necessity of human connection in ‘’night Mother’

The ending of “’night, Mother” isn’t exactly a surprise: It’s basically announced at the play’s outset. What is surprising, however, are the revelations and realizations that come to light during a conversation at the show’s center, as its two characters grapple with mortality and depression.

Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play opens at the Modern Theater Coeur d’Alene this weekend, and although it’s a dark story, director Susan Hardie said audiences are going to see a powerful piece of drama.

“That’s what theater does so beautifully – it takes a subject that might be taboo, that might be tough for people to talk about, and it shines a light on these issues,” Hardie said. “People shouldn’t be afraid to confront things, and one of the best ways of confronting issues that maybe you don’t want to talk about is to go to theater and let it happen to you.”

The play is set, without intermission, over the course of a seemingly normal Saturday night in the small country house of a woman named Thelma (Marianne McLaughlin). Her daughter, Jessie (Emily Jones), casually announces her intentions to kill herself that night, a threat Thelma doesn’t take seriously.

But it soon becomes clear that Jessie means what she says, and what follows is a long discussion between mother and daughter about mental health, happiness, fulfillment and death.

“For me, the play is not about suicide,” Hardie said. “It’s more about what happens when there are no valuable or meaningful human connections between people. I think we’ve all come to that conclusion.”

During the 90 minutes of “ ’night, Mother,” we come to understand these two women, who are probably more alike than they realize. Thelma is a widow, a self-described simple country woman with little knowledge of the outside world.

“She doesn’t need much out of life,” Hardie said. “She’s fairly resigned to living a quiet, comfortable life tucked into her own home. … She’s somewhat self-indulgent. She doesn’t understand the need for human connection.”

Jessie, meanwhile, is recently divorced and has a grown son who’s frequently running afoul of the law. She’s also epileptic, which has contributed to her decision to end her life.

“She has a really hard time socializing. She prefers to be alone,” Hardie said. “I think she realizes there’s much more to life that she’s never had an opportunity to grab onto, and I think one of the main conflicts of this show is that they have different value in life. It doesn’t take much for Mama to justify her existence in this world. Jessie, however, wants more and has been unable to find it.”

There is, however, humor present in Norman’s script, and it arises from Thelma’s naïveté bumping up against Jessie’s wry, self-deprecating wit.

“It really kind of sneaks up on you,” Hardie said. “Part of the beauty of this show is its humanity, and part of what makes us human is humor.”

“’night, Mother” is also a tremendous actor’s showcase: Kathy Bates, Edie Falco and Brenda Blethyn have all appeared in various productions, and a 1986 film adaptation starred Anne Bancroft and Sissy Spacek. Hardie described McLaughin and Jones as “real director’s actors” and said they’ve both committed fully to their difficult roles.

“We’ve had a really wonderful time creating this show,” Hardie said. “Both of them have really rolled up their sleeves and been willing to go to what I call the dark side, to explore some really dark stuff. … No one in our production team takes this lightly. We understand that we have a responsibility to treat this subject with respect and depth.”