Notes on My Mother's Decline

See it if Good acting amongst a so-so writing effort. Last 10 minutes or so was very good. Middle needs work.

Don't see it if If u want a consistent play writing effort. Lighting here needs work.

See it if you’d like to see a powerful evocation of a protracted terminal situation & the stress it puts both on the infirm & on a family caregiver.

Don't see it if graphic details about bodily infirmity might disturb you.

Also We prize theater as an art form that’s also a communal act. But our individual reactions to a piece depend on what we bring to it. I’ve cared for both of my parents in their final illnesses, one very short, the other of 7+ years’ duration. I found “Notes on My Mother's Decline” chillingly accurate in physical detail & as a graph of the troubled psyches of both the infirm & the caregiver. Playwright Andy Bragen has an impeccable ear for the odd utterances that come out of the mouth of someone bedridden, for their uneasy oases of calm amid the sea of troubles, for the outbursts that punctuate that calm. His overall construction & manipulation of dynamics are flawless. Knud Adams stages it all with almost painful clarity. He can do this because of the understated performances of Caroline Lagerfelt & Ari Fliakos as the son who both narrates & participates in the drama. I hope some smart larger theater arranges for a transfer of this gripping evocation of a protracted terminal situation.... Read more Read less

See it if Mother and son intersecting dual "sections" with the characters crisscrossing personalities and also the caretaking roles. With projections.

Don't see it if Both universal and specific: Everyone must confront parental mortality, but these reenactments seem more descriptive personal diary entries.

Also "Love me."

See it if you would enjoy the juxtaposition of monotone narration/pretentious asides by one character with a simplistic characterization of the other.

Don't see it if you don’t want to lose 70 minutes. Or 50 - the last 20 minutes had the makings of an affecting story, but the first 50 need a lot of work.

See it if you like poetry - this show is as rare as a great poem.

Don't see it if you need a traditional play

Also I would give a day of my life to see how this play has been put on, such is an amazing synergy of Andy Bragen’s text and director Knud Adams’ efforts. The play is as trite as life itself, and as tragic. And as filled with love as life should be.
It’s not death that our protagonists - a son and his mother - fear. It’s what precedes it: pain, indignity of dying, horrors of old age, finality of every departure, inevitability of a brutal end.
The show is daringly unsentimental. It’s stark, almost austere, and it’s not warm: neither script nor stage design try to make you feel entertained, complicit or even interested. The play scrutinizes, reflects, and rages against the dying of the light while never toying with our emotions.
Ari Fliakos and Caroline Lagerfelt tandem is one of the most lyrical duos ever staged, and and when she dies (which we actually never see) you feel like you were robbed of a loved one.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy minimalist shows about heavy topics that are handled with grace.

Don't see it if You don't like shows that focus on the messier sides of illness and aging.

Also The abstraction works well here, and I found the ending to be really cathartic. Similar subject matter to Waverley Gallery, but handled in a much different way.... Read more Read less

See it if you are content with one excellent performance in an otherwise banal play.

Don't see it if you bore easily and object to bright lights shining in your face.

See it if You like to see beautiful men on stage

Don't see it if If you don’t want nudity stay home

See it if Emotionally devastating Lagerfeld's dominant mother & Fliako's passive son slowly reverse roles as mother's health declines A powerhouse duo

Don't see it if Clinical, dispassionate story-telling aided by austere videos (similar to Wooster Group's style) not for everyone Yet leaves one drained

See it if Delicate, tough, elegant, precise portrait of grief & its lessons. Directed with Grace. Performed beautifully.

Don't see it if If you have trouble with stories about the deep well of grief and illness, this may not be for you

See it if Its evocative, poignant, less than 90 minutes. A decently engaging afternoon. Very talented cast, the highlight, especially the mother.

Don't see it if Nothing original here. It was slow in parts and dragged on. The shift at the end where they speak to each other was weak and boring.