THE BARRYMORE’S OF BIRD STREET APPEAR TOGETHER IN A PERFECT SHOWCASE
Pat Koskinen
ELEEMOSYNARY, the title of the new play at the Birdcage, means charity and forgiveness, which are what the play’s characters are trying to achieve. This one-act play by Lee Blessing follows the relationships between three generations of women: Dorothea Wesbrook, (Judith Davies), an old woman who chooses to be eccentric; Artemis, Dorothea's daughter, (Regina Simpson), who holds an important job as a biochemist and has an incredible memory; and Echo, Artemis's daughter (Angela Buckner), who lives with Dorothea, is very bright and is a successful competitive speller. Mr. Blessing takes us back and forth in time, through the characters' various childhoods and marriages and illnesses and rages, until his trio can find some common ground.
As the play begins, Dorothea has had a stroke and Artie and Echo, who have come to see her, meet for the first time in years. This reunion of mother and daughter begins the recounting of the family history that makes up most of Eleemosynary. The family story is seen differently by each of the women. Echo has decided that all of her problems began in 1958, when her grandmother, Dorothea, forced her mother, Artie, to test her theory that humans can fly with "the proper classical training." Artie attempted the feat with a pair of homemade wings strapped to her back and failed. Dorothea participated in many eccentric projects: communication with the dead, spontaneous combustion, astral projection. When she took walks, she claimed that she met famous people, like President James Monroe. Eccentricity was her response to the restricted lives women lived during the time she was growing up. Dorothea recalls the oppressive conditions of the 1940’s and 1950’s. She was denied the opportunity for an education and it was arranged that she marry. Dorothea grudgingly accepted her life until she met a spiritualist at a party, who told her that no one holds an eccentric responsible. She says that eccentricity saved her life, enabled her to remain a wife and a mother and still talk to animals. However, her behavior affected her family.
Dorothea’s quest for independence influenced her treatment of her daughter, Artie, and subsequently Artie’s treatment of her daughter, Echo. Ironically, by her attempts to teach her daughter to be independent, to make choices in life that would enable her to be free, Dorothea completely controlled her life and forced her to leave home. After her daughter Echo is born, Artie must again flee Dorothea’s control. Echo and Artie do eventually find common ground and Echo comes to acknowledge that she shares experiences and difficulties with her mother. This play is not a mystery but the play is more enjoyable if as in real life, you do not know what will happen next. These women’s life experiences teach them a profound lesson, that the bonds between them are bonds that cannot be severed. However, they can be renegotiated so that the dynamics between the members of the family are less destructive. Slowly, through the study of words, Echo and Artie are able to establish a familial relationship.
Blessing provides no happy ending to the play that neatly wraps up the troubled relationship between Artie and Echo. However, the play does end with a warm note of hope, with Echo insisting that she will not give up on her mother, for although the Wesbrook women can be eccentric, they are also eleemosynary, charitable at heart.
Judith Davies, Regina Simpson, and Angela Buckner actually are grandmother, mother and daughter. They have appeared in many Birdcage Productions and always deliver brilliant performances. To see them all together is an outstanding treat. They make a perfect cast. Judith Davies reveals Dorothea as a self-centered eccentric who is oblivious to how she makes other people feel. She shows the audience a Dorothea who is passive-aggressive, pushes people aside to get her own way but is also witty and humorous. Regina Simpson manages to expose Artie’s frailty and evoke sympathy for a woman who abandoned her child. Angela Buckner moves through Echo's various ages with ease. At the National Spelling Bee, her cutthroat demeanor is quite funny and realistic. She brings out the sadness in Echo as the child who wants her grandmother and mother to get along and be a family again. Buckner is a true delight.
Lucille Beatty’s direction demonstrates that her great talent is her ability to superbly display the talents of both writers and actors.  The result of the combination of these fine actresses and director and a touching, funny play make for a night of wonderful theatre.
ELEEMOSYNARY  runs from October 30 until November 15. Tickets are $10 ($5 for pre-teens).  Advance tickets are available at the Discount Bookstore, 1515 Myers in Oroville.  Birdcage Theatre is located at 1740 Bird St. in downtown Oroville. Performances are at 7:30 on Friday and Saturday evenings, and 2 p.m. Sunday afternoons. The audience may meet and mingle with the actors (and directors) after every performance, according to Birdcage tradition. Call the theatre at (530) 533-BIRD (2473) for information about season tickets, or other questions. Also visit the Web site at: www.birdcagetheatre.net.