‘Mad Mother’ Salutes Those Who Cope

Of all diseases, Alzheimer’s may be one of the most terrifying. The inexorable whittling away of self, the torturous, trickle-down effects on loved ones, all seem part of an exquisitely cruel design--a cosmic crash test to determine the outermost boundaries of human endurance.

For those who have not experienced the tragedy of Alzheimer’s on a personal level, Julie Jensen’s “Last Lists of My Mad Mother,” at the Hudson Guild, will spark a new understanding of the disease’s ravages and psychic cost. For those who have seen a loved one descend into the ever-narrowing labyrinth of dementia, Jensen’s play may prove cathartic.

Without a whiff of the maudlin, Jensen’s drama affords a painfully detailed, fly-on-the-wall view of the day-to-day interactions between Ma (Karlene Bradley), an Alzheimer’s sufferer, and Dot (Elizabeth Reilly), her daughter and sole caregiver. Make no mistake, though. This is not a play solely about Alzheimer’s. The real business of the evening is the practical heroism and abiding family feeling displayed by ordinary people confronted with the disease.

The piece, which clocks in at a bit over an hour, is deceptively slight. But then, slightness--particularly in the mind-boggling, mundane conversations between Dot and Ma--seems the operative conceit here. In Ma’s dwindling mental sphere, a trip to get the mail, a dispute over a bowl of cereal, are emotionally wrenching events. However, for all their benumbing triviality and repetitiousness, the interchanges between Ma and Dot are epic--as absurd and fraught with meaning as any Beckett play.

Jensen’s simple tack extends to the entire production, from Plume Buigues’ no-frills lighting design to Max Kinberg’s subtle original music and sound. Director Hope Alexander helms the proceedings with a light and unobtrusive hand, seldom overemphasizing the play’s obvious points. A forgivable exception is Alexander’s treatment of Sis (Kathleen Ward Marshall), Ma’s self-absorbed other daughter, who presumes to criticize Dot’s caregiving in absentia. Initially overwritten, the character of Sis barely skirts caricature. However, Jensen later regains her footing, allowing Alexander and her capable actresses to show us the strong, sisterly bond beneath the stereotypical bickering.

Sardonic yet deeply compassionate, Dot must be underplayed to succeed. Although the capable Reilly sometimes glides over Dot’s palpable sadness, she delivers an acerbic and moving turn.

Ma is the fulcrum upon which the play rises and falls. With her hundred-yard stare and residual twinkle, Bradley triumphs. Despite her diminished capacities, her fierce, frustrating Ma is mythic in stature, a tragic heroine for our time.

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* “Last Lists of My Mad Mother,” Hudson Guild, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends March 5. $18. (323) 692-2777. Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.