BLATHER REVIEW

The Wall, pt 3 (Mother)

Part 1
Part 2

So, Boy Pink is sitting on the edge of the bed, while Mother is behind him miming doing the dishes, and non-chalantly (with voice-over from adult actor) blurts out:

Mother, do think they'll drop the Bomb?

Mother snaps to -- eyeing Boy Pink with concern and then looking out and up searching for dangers in the sky as she climbs onto the bed from the rear. And as Boy Pink happily passes a piece of paper over his shoulder he asks:

Mother, do you think they'll like this song?

Mother scans it, looks at the back of Boy Pink's head with wonderment and concern and crushes the paper in her fist and lets it fall. Boy Pink then, suddenly looking like he's paying attention to his own questions, looks up from his coloring book quizzically:

Mother, do you think they'll try to break my balls?

Mother recoils from the bed and puts her hand over her mouth. Not realizing that Boy Pink is merely asking a question, and is probably expecting an encouraging word for an answer, she's obviously worried now that he needs to be as fearful of risk as she is lest he be as harmed by loss as she was. And he, almost unfeelingly, just asking for asking's sake, asks:

Oooo, Mother, should I build a wall?

and Mother shows with her body language that's torn about about how to deal with this; as if this was a "I knew this was coming but I still held out hope that it never would" moment.

Boy Pink then hops off the bed and moves toward center stage.

Mother, should I run for President?

Immediately Mother clutches her hands to her chest and grins widely at the thought of her son being President. But, there's a brief image on the wall backdrop of an Abraham Lincoln photo followed by a brief snippet of the Zapruder film, and Mother runs to Boy Pink and throws her arms around him while looking out and up for danger. Boy Pink throws her off:

Mother, should I trust the government?

Again, Mother initially is encouraged but the images on the wall (I'm not sure what exactly to use yet) make her run to hold and protect him. Again he breaks free, but this time he turns directly to her as if asking why she's being so protective:

Mother, will they put me in the firing line?!

and Mother stands away this time, giving him his space because she's not sure if she's mistaken about how to handle this. Boy Pink then turns away and exasperates:

Oooo, is it just waste of time?

Mother approaches the now brooding Boy Pink slowly, puts her right arm around him and her left hand on his head, combing his hair with her fingers, and her cheek on top of that. Having made a decision she comforts him:

Hush now, baby, baby, don't you cry
Mother's gonna make all of your nightmares come true
Mother's gonna put all of her fears into you
Mother's gonna keep you right here, under her wing
She wont let you fly but she might let you sing
Mother's gonna keep Baby cozy and warm...

At this point the lights show the set and we see four (4) figures entering the stage (two from each side). They are young ladies dressed in airy pink dresses. The base of their costume is body-hugging, but they also have an outer "baby-doll" layer, knee-length, that's very sheer and flowing. I'll call these gals the "Worms" just 'cause I don't know what else to call them.

They enter and make their way to the edges of the malcontructed edges of the wall, at stages left and right, to put scattered bricks into place while at the same time they're harmonizing with Mother as she sings:

Oooooo, Babe
Oooooo, Babe
Ooo, Babe, of course Mother's gonna help build the wall.

And here's the first cool visual trick of the play. Mother will hug Boy Pink from behind, tucking her hands into the sleeves of her black dress, and her arms will morph into a red brick wall just as the music flourishes!

It's pretty easy to do, too. The sleeves of Mothers dress will be folds. When she tucks her hands into the sleeves, connecting them, all the Boy Pink kid needs to do is cross his arms while pulling the folded sleeve portions apart thus turning Mother's black sleeves into a wall. Even if done clumsily it'd be worth it. But, hear that music in your head, just following the line "of course mother's gonna help build the wall", and the audial flourish is accompanied by sleeves turning into a frickin' wall. If it's done right it could even draw an audible gasp from the audience. Wee hee! :D

But now comes the tricky part: Pink has to grow in a hurry. So we'll have him dance around with the Worms a bit, then disappear behind the downstage platform and emerge a bit older, then dance again and emerge as the adult that will play Pink for the rest of the show, all within the 45 seconds of the guitar solo, while at the same time the Wife waltzes in from down stage left in a white dress that looks kinda like a wedding dress but is calf-length and she's carrying a large bouquet of white flowers. Pink sings (live now):

Mother, do you think she's good enough
....for me....?

and here's where I add a little special something.
The Worms (the girls in pink) will sing in the background throughout the "quiet times" when Pink isn't singing. They'll sing softly, almost sounding like a whisper:

Mother loves her little baby and Daddy loves you, too
Mother loves her little baby blue and Daddy loves you, too...

...as they continue to build the wall.
I know that I can't make you hear how it sounds by typing a description of it. But, trust me, if the sounds in my head could ever be aloud then you'd know why I feel like it's possible to hear surrender.
It might even be a struggle for the audience to hear what exactly the Worms are singing. But the most important thing is that it sounds ghostly. Unexplainably spooky... like a siren's song. The sweetest sounding invitation to alienation you've ever heard.

The Wife then adds another visual device. From within her bouquet she presents her right hand in a Freddy Kreuger-type razor claw as Pink sings the line

Mother, do you think she's dangerous....to me..?

The Wife presents the claw (maybe even grinning with fangs) and Mother turns sharply as Wife quickly hides her hand (and/or teeth).
They stare each other down: Mother is judgemental, and concerned for her baby, while Wife is feigning a "What, me worry?" look. Wife is simultaneously dismissive of Mother yet is still expecting to win her approval.
Pink runs to Mother, dropping to his knees and huging her hips:

Mother, will she tear yer little boy apart?!

Wife turns away as if in disgust. Pink asks Mother if Wife will break his heart, and Mother again comforts him.
She goes through the "Mother will check out all your girlfriends for you..." verse, while checking Wife out, and decides to at least tacitly approve of Pink's choice for the Wife, but still warning:

You'll always be a baby to me.

The music will continue, subdued, but will NOT include the line "Mother, did it need to be so high?". That line has always pissed me off. Nevermind why....

Anyway, the music will continue into the haunting strains of "Good-bye Blue Sky". But that's side 2 -- which could get interesting -- but we're not there yet...
:)

Posted by Tuning Spork at August 25, 2004 11:26 PM