God bless the Irish Repertory Theater for providing such an inviting venue for performers like Leenya Rideout. Yes, she should be starring in a musical on Broadway, but here, we get the benefit of hearing her speak her own words, and sing her own songs. She is a dazzling talent; I lost track of how many instruments she plays, chief among them the violin. Her singing voice is delightful in several genres, equally comfortable in folk, rock and classic Italian. She’s lovely to look at, with undisputable acting chops. The heart of the production centers around the often difficult but ultimately devoted relationship between a daughter and her mother. Rideout plays both roles, giving mom the almost Fargo-like regionalism of Western Washington State. The show begins with sprightly Irish music. We’re in a wooden shack strung with strands of cheap lights; the walls are filled with primitive paintings and lots of instruments, including the aforementioned fiddle, guitars, a bass, mandolin, cello, and a piano that’s been tucked in. Leenya enters from the storm like a whirlwind; she’s very pretty, with long black hair and unmistakable charm. She explains that her name is taken from the way a Polish lady pronounced “Lynn.” She then tells us about her mother, who turns out to be a dyed-in-the-wool church lady, who loves to pray and who, at times, uses rather course language. Mom laments Leenya’s choices, because after all, “What’s life without a grandchild?” While she has always encouraged her daughter in creative pursuits, she’s also expected that Leenya will get married and have a husband who’ll support her. On the one hand, she drives her- really slowly- to a talent show that Leenya wins. On the other, she’s afraid her daughter will be seduced by fame, travel, and worthless men. With the latter, Leenya needs no help. She constantly goes for guys who aren’t worthy of her. She resents being cheated out of her wages and told to accept it because she’s just “The Girl in the Band.” Even she can’t understand her attraction to feckless Irish men and “their vampire skin.” She’s had some success in her career, including an international tour with a road company of My Fair Lady. But things aren’t going as well as planned. Dressed in beat up denim, in her interaction with the audience Rideout is casual and approachable. And so much of her conflict with her mother is universal. She discusses the marital problems her parents have faced, and deems her mom “a sitcom character in a tragedy.” Unfortunately, it often takes an incident like Leenya’s mom getting cancer to make us realize that whatever our differences, there’s nothing more precious than family. And no matter how much arguing and emotional gut wrenching we may go through with one another, at the end of the day, love is what really matters.
