'Water' Plays Memorably Off Murky Premise

Elden Street Players Bank on Waves of Sea and Emotion to Rock Family Foundation, Test Ties

Usually, you have to buy the premise to enjoy a play.

That's not the case with "The Memory of Water," by the Elden Street Players. You may reject the premise, you may even fail to discern the premise, and still enjoy this tightly directed, well-acted comedic drama.

English playwright Shelagh Stephenson has crafted a story in which the dramatic weight rests on a concept that is not fully supported by much we can see. But the characters are so detailed, and the performances here so strong, that we can overlook the vague foundation and still enjoy the production.

Three sisters (where are Chekhov and Woody Allen when you need them?) are together in the old family home overlooking the sea on the English coast, reunited by their mother's death. They may share lineage, but these women are quite different from one another, and family ties are borne uneasily. Each is haunted by individual memories of family events and disappointment with their lives. Those differing memories cause intermittent bickering, and the death of dear old Mum seems to be causing veiled deceptions to float to the surface.

Playwright Stephenson seems to be saying that the choices these woman have made in their lives are related to their mother. At least, the bad choices are. But as the sisters sort out the bits and pieces of family history that they recall differently, the maternal link seems tenuous.

Stephenson tries to strengthen the theme with artifice. Not only has Mum shuffled off this mortal coil, but the house will soon be shuffling over the cliff into the sea. Cracks are already appearing in the walls. Okay, we get it. Mom was the foundation of these lives.

Then Stephenson has a discussion of an idea that water has memory. This is a scientifically unsupported concept that says water can retain a "memory" of particles once dissolved in it, even after being diluted so much that the particles have disappeared.

This must be highly significant; it is the play's title. But is Mom the water, or is she the particle? Maybe she's the glass; I don't know.

Meanwhile, the sisters revert to childhood and have a fun time trying on Mum's clothes, smoking grass and swigging whiskey. Mum has a few moments herself, making spectral appearances in front of one of her daughters to seek understanding. But neither the mother nor long-dead father was a monster, and all the lives are rather ordinary in their limitations and disappointments, so there's not really all that much emotional baggage to rummage through.

Fortunately, director Melody Fetske has assembled a first-rate cast and adeptly moves them through the story with a dynamic flow and a sense of irony that nicely colors the proceedings.

Cassie Lee is Mary, the middle sister, a doctor who denies herself happiness by carrying on a long-term affair with a married man, played with hapless charm by Seth Vaughn. Mary is the one who spends some postmortem quality time with Mumsy, played with appropriately ethereal remove by Susan d. Garvey. Lorraine Magee plays the oldest, Teresa, a woman dealing with resentment over having to care for her elderly mother while her sisters stayed away. Al Fetske plays Teresa's husband, Frank, who seems determined to find his own happiness.

Tracy Mullen Cosker portrays the youngest sister, Catherine, a slutty, self-absorbed loser whose life is in perpetual shambles. However, Cosker makes her quite vivacious, even as Catherine's insecurities occasionally crack through the happy facade, and she's fun to be around.

With all the fluttering about by the ladies, it is redoubtable Al Fetske who grounds the story with his solid work. In fact, the best moments of the production come as Fetske and Magee autopsy their married life, two pros playing off each other with vibrant performances.

Together, they help turn a watery-thin tale into "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" meets "Hannah and Her Sisters."

"The Memory of Water" continues through April 12, performed by Elden Street Players at Industrial Strength Theatre, 269 Sunset Park Dr., Herndon. Showtime Fridays and Saturdays is 8 p.m. Performances are also scheduled for this Sunday at 3 p.m.; April 6 at 7 p.m.; and April 10 at 8 p.m. For reservations, call 703-481-5930. For information, visithttp://www.eldenstreetplayers.org.