Joplin Little Theatre stages Eleemosynary
January 28, 2015


Three generations of women are portrayed in Lee Blessing's play, Eleemosynary. Starring (L-R) in the current Joplin Little Theatre production are: Samantha Green, Brenda Jackson and Marilyn Marshall Miller. (Photo by Vince Rosati)

Eleemosynary is the name of the play being staged at the Joplin Little Theatre. That's el-ee-Mahs-uh-n'ree--from Latin: eleemosyna, or "alms." It came into Latin from Greek: eleemosune, "compassion."--- and if you think that word is difficult to pronounce, try remembering the other words that the youngest in the cast must memorize from a script that characterizes her not only as a brilliant speller but also an exceptional etymologist.

A play performed without intermission, Eleemosynary has only three characters and needs only the the simplest of staging: a series of black platforms and movable cubes that are shuffled around by the cast dressed entirely in red: Dorothea, the grandmother (Brenda Jackson) who has chosen to be eccentric; Artemis or Artie (Marilyn Marshall Miller), the daughter of Dorothea who has problems due to growing up with this eccentricity and Echo (Samantha Green), Artie's daughter who seeks recognition from her shut-off mother by herself gaining recognition as the world's best speller. The play begins with Dorothea's stroke (and word shuttering symbolism) and proceeds with several flashbacks.

Echo, portrayed by Samantha Green, tries to communicate by phone with her mentally and physically distant mother in JLT's production, Eleemosynary. (Photo by Vince Rosati)

Lee Blessing has written a play about three generations of very articulate women but women with a major problem--they can't communicate with one another. It is a play about how words control life but fail to convey feelings. "I have trouble touching my daughter," Artie says, dealing with her only by telephone and then passing along her maternal responsibility to her mother and then to an unseen uncle after Dorothea's death.

While a feminist play, men in the audience hopefully won't miss the theme running through it. "It's a terrible desire to want to know everything," Dorothy says as she overcompensates for her feelings of inadequacy not having been born a boy. Her quest for an intellectual life is passed from generation to generation--Artie, we are told becomes a brilliant scientist and Echo who is a math genius as well as wordsmith announces, "I know everything in the world."

During the final dress rehearsal the cast gave a flawless performance. Jackson conveyed her eccentricity without losing the seriousness of her character's role. Marshall Miller aptly made us feel compassion for her despite her character's indifference. And while Green threw words out like "limicolous" and "glunch" and, of course, "eleemosynary," with a script that easily could have been irritating, she conveyed a likeable side. We wanted her aloof mother to love her.

Directed by Tim Klein (kudos for him for tying together a rather ambiguous script panned by many critics), Eleemosynary will be performed from January 28 until February 1, 2015. Curtain is 7:30 p.m. daily with a matinee on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $13 per person. Phone the box office at (417) 623-3638. The Joplin Little Theatre is located at 2009 W. First St. (just west of Schifferdecker Road), Joplin.

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