Three women drift in loss and jealousy’s troubled waters

Dealing with an aging parent is difficult, and doubly so when the parent-child connection has frayed. That’s the central situation in “Knowing Cairo,” Andrea Stolowitz’s heartbreaking new play on the Globe Theatres’ Cassius Carter stage.

Rose is 79, living alone in her New York apartment and daily growing more cantankerous. Daughter Lydia, a psychologist who lives in Westchester, stops by periodically, but Rose’s complaints and criticisms -- coupled with their chilly history -- curdle their meetings.

Still, Lydia worries about her mother, so she hires a live-in, even though Rose’s ill temper has driven away countless other caregivers. Winsom (the name seems an ironic pun) turns out to be sturdy, specializing in clients her agency calls “Class One: Screamers.” She manages to ignore Rose’s insults and attacks, retreating into reading classics like “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “Anna Karenina.” (Rose nastily reveals the ending, but Winsom is unfazed: She’s read it before.)

Gradually, their barriers break down. Rose, impressed that she can’t intimidate Winsom, grows warmer and likable, and Winsom responds. They begin to pal around, sharing activities and going places like matinees (“a real play,” Rose says, “nothing with singing animals”). When Winsom goes home on weekends, Rose misses her terribly.

Lydia, seeing this kinship, tries to reinsert herself into her mother’s life but meets resistance from both women. She also expresses concern about the way her mother is spending money -- particularly on Winsom -- and decides that, regardless of her mother’s wishes, Winsom must go. The struggle climaxes in a scene that’s improbable in these days of easy cell-phone communication, but it leads to a soul-wrenching finale.

Under Seret Scott’s perspicuous direction, Marilyn Chris blooms beautifully as Rose, effectively ranging from prickly to poignant. When, for example, she realizes the chasm between her daughter and her new friend, her anguish is palpable. Susan Wands gives Lydia the right iciness, and Regina Hilliard Bain shows Winsom’s sparkling moments after appearing too detached in the early going.

David Ledsinger’s set, lighted aptly by Chris Rynne, serves well as Rose’s neat and efficient apartment, and Jennifer Brawn Gittings’ costumes underscore the changes in moods. Paul Peterson’s sound design features transitional piano pieces.

The Cairo of the title is the Illinois town (pronounced KAY-ro) where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers join. In “Huckleberry Finn,” Huck and Jim flee their Missouri hometown and raft down the Mississippi, intending to land at Cairo and head for freedom. But, not being able to recognize it, they drift on by.

Possibly to mirror the Twain classic’s black-white bonding, Stolowitz makes Winsom African American, which diffuses the play’s focus somewhat. Is Lydia’s antipathy based partially on race, especially as she investigates Winsom’s past? That question, and others, linger. Is Winsom exceptionally good with difficult patients, or is she cunningly avaricious? Is Lydia looking out for her mother or protecting her own inheritance? Whatever the answers, it becomes painfully clear that these three have gone past Cairo.

*

‘Knowing Cairo’

Where: Cassius Carter Centre Stage, Balboa Park, San Diego

When: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.

Ends: May 11

Price: $19-$50

Contact: (619) 239-2255

Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes