- OTHER MEDIA
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- review in the SF Weekly
- by Chloe Veltman
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- Ruth Portman, Ruth Russell, and Ruth Whitaker are residents of Island
House, a care home for the elderly. Their days revolve around playing bridge,
listening to books on tape, and eating bland corn chowder. As brought to
life by Alissa Mortenson, Claytie Mason, and Annalisa Derr in this poignant
meditation on memory and the inevitability of getting old, the three Ruths
recount episodes from their lives both as they are now and as they once
were. Based on taped, real-life interviews with seven seniors in assisted
living facilities (all coincidentally named Ruth), the play blends physical
theater, mask work, and excerpts from recording sessions with the interviewees.
Dressed in white pinafores and orthopedic shoes, the actors chatter and
skip about like young women — full of vitality and hope. But as soon
as Mortenson, Mason, and Derr don masks (beautiful creations by Mason and
Molly Millar), their stooped bodies and gnarled, marble-constant faces
do all the talking. Though the rhythm of the piece feels arthritic in places
and the structure doddering, The Secret Ruths is powerful for its insights
into the process of aging — and for the sheer expressiveness and conviction
of the performances.
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