Stew

The Tucker women are up early to prepare a substantial meal, but tensions simmer outside and around Mama's kitchen. As three generations of women come together — they each begrudgingly share intimate and private climacterics that boil over into one painful and traumatic event.

Shattered Globe Theatre's STEW is an excellent performance that shares the pure truth of how each individual's life struggle can affect the family structure. Set in Mt. Vernon, New York, somewhere around the millennium, Stew takes you to the root of problems within this family with intense emotional drama. There is a strong bond between the Tucker ladies, but at the heart of all their issues are denial, rejection, the fear of loneliness, and self-esteem. Stew premiered off-Broadway at Walkerspace on January 20, 2020, and centers around Mama Tucker and Lillian's broken relationship, which through the play's core, we learn they have more similarities and differences.

As Mama wakes to prepare her infamous stew for the church event, she suddenly seems to have a flashback moment where she is interrupted by a loud noise that sounds like a gunshot or a tired being blown out. Mama's daughters, Lillian (Jazzma Pryor), Nelly (Jasmine Cheri Rush), and her granddaughter Lil Mama (Demetra Dee), run into the kitchen to see what happened.

As they gather in the kitchen, Mama (Velma Austin), the family's matriarch, rules with an iron fist; and doesn't hesitate to bark orders when preparing her stew. She is the founder and director emeritus of the Mt. Vernon High Dramatic League. She is the first soloist at her beloved church, the Greater Centennial A.M.E. Zion Church, lead pastor Reverend Winston Rice, for the past 15 years." Something her daughters Lillian and Nelly have heard for years, and her granddaughter rehearsing for a role in a Shakespeare play is about to learn.

As they join to help her with her stew, Lillian fearing that her mother, who seems to be experiencing Alzheimer's, may harm herself, tries to discuss getting her some help — but her mother diverts the topic back to preparing the stew. All the Tucker women struggle with issues. Lillian is struggling in her marriage, Nelly is struggling with telling her family about a life-changing predicament, and Lil Mama struggles with her lines and the feeling of understanding a woman who has lost a child. Still, their bond will be the glue that holds the Tucker family together, for better or worse.

From this opening scene, the stage features an old-fashioned home setting with lights around the kitchen, marking that a life-changing event is about to happen. Something noticeably absent from the play was the men in all of their lives, including Junior, Mama's son, who went to the store and never made it back home.

Watching Zora Howard's 'Stew production reminded me of my mother and sister when we gathered in the kitchen of our house. There's nothing like a mother's love to guide her daughters through life's encounters of pain, happiness, and healing for the soul. The kitchen and the set design by Sotirios Livaditis gave you a sense of familiarity, where everyone gathers, and you can vividly imagine yourself in the kitchen helping with dinner and stirring up conversations. Velma Austin is outstanding as Mama, and the cast of Jazzma Pryor, Jasmine Cheri Rush, and Demetra Dee, performed brilliantly. They showed us that the kitchen is not only for eating but a sanctuary and haven—a room where we receive free therapy and a universal place that hosts a lot of traditions and the soul of each family.

Director Malkia Stampley, who saw Stew in New York, does a remarkable job displaying the range of how the characters play off of one another. With constant camaraderie, wit, and banter, they swiftly converse and, like normal families, chaotically communicate; they simultaneously talk, argue, and snap back with lots of sass. A variety of comical wit and sassiness governed the amity in the character's dialogue. For example, when Lillian accuses her mother of always being late, Mama retorts, "I'm always held up is what it is." Likewise, the compelling scene where Jazzma Pryor tells her mother about her feelings of loneliness within her marriage will speak to every woman struggling to find love, compassion, loyalty, and devotion from their spouse.

The play's climax happens when everything hits the wall of frustration boiling over, and the secrets come out. Some languages were brass; however, they went with the storyline, making it more authentic. Howard's ingenious storytelling switched gears and simmered things down a bit after the blow-up when Mama, who comes from a family of female actresses, retakes the lead, suggestively giving Lil Mama some pointers as she coaches her through the scene in which Elizabeth mourns her son. And when she and Lillian have a heart-to-heart conversation about loneliness with a marriage.

Although the actual stew never came to fruition, which I believe was a metaphor for something brewing in the kitchen, Stew does a masterful job touching on some compassionate and frustrating things women endure while trying to keep the family structure together. Stew is a play that will touch her spirit with laughter and will invoke family memories that will bring your eyes to tears.

In conclusion, the loud noise heard in the play's opening scene will be revealed at the play's closing.

Let's Play 'Highly Recommend,' this remarkable play STEW!

Shattered Globe Theatre

STEW

By Zora Howard

Directed by Malkia Stampley

September 9 – October 22, 2022