” night Mother” reviewed by Mark Reinecke and a second look by Frank Meccia

****It is just another Saturday night. A mother and daughter are at home doing routine things. A harrowing evening unfolds between these two ordinary women in a completely ordinary setting in a small ordinary town. As you sit in the immersive, intimate Red Twist Theatre, Marsha Norman’s ‘night, Mother comes to life immediately with intimate details in the lives of an aging, dependent mother and her mentally deteriorating daughter. Emptiness and isolation are depicted, which mirrors the disappointments that fill so many lives, in so many homes, and in our many faceless towns populating this country. This is the unsettling power of this show.

Welcome and step right in to the home of Thelma Cates (Kathy Ruhl), a widow, and Jessie Cates (Anne Sheridan Smith) who is divorced. They appear to have a good life. No real pressing financial issues. They live together in a clean, neat, ordinary home. There are many relaxing pursuits: board games, crocheting, cooking, meds to manage, TV programs, and plenty of chores. There’s a calendar on the wall showing you the current month and year. And there is love – and a lot of junk food – in this home.

Jessie claims to have never felt better, which only adds to the complexity of this story. She is an attractive, intelligent and engaging woman. Having faced the life-long uncertainty of epileptic seizures, Jessie spends her days safely indoors, while caring for her elderly mother. She does not drive. Her son is a drug addict and criminal. She misses her father. Her unfaithful husband, whom she misses, caused considerable damage to her self-esteem before leaving her. Seemingly out of the blue, Jessie announces to her mother that there will be a life-altering change to their lives that evening. And it becomes evident she means it.

The realism in the script, the setting/staging and the straight-forward acting deliveries adds to the shattering nature of this story. Jessie acts as if she is planning a ten-day holiday away from home. Thelma, her mother, initially acts skeptical about the plans. And then we watch Kathy Ruhl in a truly gifted, balanced performance give a master class on contained terror as she cajoles and talks to her daughter. Thelma desperately offers to solve the disappointments and deficits discussed, but Jessie remains focused on getting her mother’s affairs and house in order.

The only real possession Jessie feels she has left is herself, meaning her inner life. And she will take control under her own terms. Anne Sheridan Smith in rare moments of vulnerability drops her caviler façade and reveals convincingly the depth of her distress, anger and isolation. This is a gripping, unsettling 105-minute play not about the topic at hand, but about contemporary life and what gives it value. And these two actors can take this script under the skilled direction of Dusty Brown, Executive Artistic Director of Red Twist Theatre, and plunge the audience into the depths of these issues.

The set is a typical living room with an adjacent kitchen. It’s clean, homey, with very basic appliances, and the walls need replastering. This house could be anywhere your imagination takes you. The TV is running constantly. There is little distance between the actors and audience. We see how these two lives are built on isolating, mind-numbing routines. The truly horrific aspect of this story, though, is not the decisions discussed, but the mother’s gradual awakening – and ours – to the harsh logic of those decisions.

Marsha Norman makes clear that these women are not fools. She does not judge these women or comment on their predicaments. As the anxiety intensifies, Norman holds up a mirror and magnifying glass and forces the audience to peer inward. “Mama” uses every argument she could come up and begs her daughter to reason with her. Jessie is easily able to knock down all of it with force. During the course of the play, Thelma and Jessie begin to ask each other questions that have been haunting them for some time. There is complete honesty between them. There are tender moments when love is openly expressed. There are pockets of humor. And there is warmth throughout. But this is not enough to change the course of this story.

The suburb acting – Ruhl’s role of Thelma who will be left in her old age to pick up the pieces and Sheridan Smith’s Jessie who is defiant and determined – gives the production a successful ebb and flow as these two characters circle each other in a life and death dramatic dance. We realize reluctantly that Jessie is beyond reach. There is no self-love left in Jessie. Mama’s primal screams go unheeded. I saw audience members holding hands. I saw tears. This is powerful, crushing theater.

There is a broad sweep of themes to consider such as the burdens of illness, and being “different”, as well as the rights and responsibilities of family, individuals and society at large. This show is an achievement bringing reflection, understanding and hopefully compassion to forgotten and tragic American lives. And it is a tragedy we have all faced – or will face – when someone we love is beyond our grasp to save.

Red Twist Theatre presents:

‘night Mother

By: Marsha Norman

Directed by: Dusty Brown, Executive Artistic Director

Creative Team: Ashley O’Neill (Asst. Director); Courtney Abbott (Intimacy/Violence Director);Meredith Ernst Maryfield (Dramaturg); Emily Chen (Stage Manager); Madeleine Shows (Costume Designer); Nick Bartleson and Leo Bassow (Co-Props Designers); Harper Justus Sound Designer); Bobbie Buie (Scenic Designer); Piper Kirchhofer (Lighting Designer); Jeff Brain (Technical Director); and Raine Dedominici (Production Manager).

Red Twist Theatre

1044 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago

Playing through May 24, 2026

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 pm

Sundays 3:30 pm

There will be two understudy performances on Sunday, May 3, at 3:30 pm and Thursday, May 14, at 7:30 pm

Total running time: 105 minutes with no intermission

Single tickets are $10 – $60 at www.RedtwistTheatre.org

Discounts available for seniors, students, and veterans with pay-what-you-can for all Friday night performances.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at ‘night Mother”.

A second look-

Reviewed By: Frank Meccia

*** There’s something quietly devastating about ’night, Mother, a Pulitzer Prize–winning play by Marsha Norman. Now playing at Redtwist Theatre in Chicago, this intimate production delivers an emotionally gripping evening built on two performances that never let go.
Set in a modest Southern home, the story centers on Thelma Cates, portrayed with authenticity by Kathy Ruhl, and her daughter Jessie, played by Anne Sheridan Smith. Thelma is the picture of a stubborn, comfort-seeking Southern mother—dealing with multiple medical conditions yet unapologetically indulging in sweets and familiar routines. Jessie, her divorced daughter, has returned home out of financial necessity, bringing with her a quiet sense of order and urgency.

The play begins almost mundanely: television flickers, knitting needles click, and Jessie methodically cleans the house—throwing out expired food, organizing medications, and tidying what feels like more than just physical space. But beneath this domestic calm lies something far more unsettling. When Jessie retrieves her late father’s pistol from the attic, the emotional core of the play is revealed: she calmly informs her mother that she intends to end her life that very night.
What follows is a tense, heartbreaking 60-minute conversation as Thelma desperately tries to stop her. In the process, long-buried truths surface. Jessie’s seizures, once blamed on a horse accident, are revealed to have been present since birth. Thelma confronts her own past, including a marriage built without love, and begins to understand the depth of her daughter’s isolation. Both women come to realize how deeply they need one another—though that realization may come too late.

Director Dusty Brown handles the material with care and restraint, allowing the emotional weight to unfold naturally without overstatement. Assistant director Ashley O’Neill contributes to a tone that balances the heaviness of the subject with moments of subtle, human humor.
Behind the scenes, the production is equally strong. Stage manager Emily Chen helps maintain a seamless flow, while the set convincingly recreates a worn, lived-in Southern home. The detailed props—designed by Nick Bartleson and Leo Bassow—add to the realism, with items constantly handled, used, and even broken, reinforcing the authenticity of the environment. Technical director Jeff Brain and production manager Raine Dedominici highlight what is clearly a strong team effort supporting this intimate production.
There’s a line often attributed to Phil Donahue: “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” This play challenges that sentiment, asking whether all pain is truly temporary—and what happens when someone believes it isn’t.

’night Mother ‘runs through May 24 at Redtwist Theatre, located at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. With convenient parking and several nearby restaurants and coffee shops, it’s an easy and worthwhile night out.

This is not a light evening at the theater—but it is a powerful one. Don’t miss the chance to experience this deeply human and unflinching work.
The Performance schedule is:
Thursday – Saturday at 7:30pm
Sunday at 3:30pm

Single tickets are on sale for $10 – $60 dollars at Redtwisttheatre.org with discounts available for seniors, students and veterans.