On the verge of death for the umpteenth time, Anna (Linda Lavin) makes a shocking confession to her grown children: an affair from her past that just might have resonance beyond the family. But how much of what she says is true? While her children try to separate fact from fiction, Anna fights for a legacy she can be proud of. With razor-sharp wit and extraordinary insight, Our Mother's Brief Affair considers the sweeping, surprising impact of indiscretions both large and small.
The play is filled with attempts at wit, like the one Mom delivers about her son being a 'string terrorist.' Or statements that 'the potato chip is nature's most perfect food,' which Lavin delivers as if she's quoting Oscar Wilde. The actress is a real trouper. 'Affair' is nearly a drama-less drama. Nearly every conflict presented is resolved by someone on stage telling us how it is resolved...Likewise, character traits are thrown out and dismissed.
Apologies are in order, yes. Here we have another geriatric comedy--of the genre popularly known as 'the Linda Lavin play'--pleasantly steaming along, courtesy of heavy lifting by Linda Lavin herself. Suddenly, a big mystery emerges; without said big mystery, there'd be little upon which to build the second act. To wit: the fellow playing the man with whom the mother of the title is having the affair, says 'I'm David Greenglass.'
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