MOTHER DIS-COURAGE
ALT Press
Alice E. Gerard  9/24/04

    Kurt Schneiderman describes MOTHER DIS-COURAGE as "just another absurdist neo-Brechtian anti-imperialist extravaganza."  He created this one-act play as a loose take-off of [sic] Bertold Brecht's MOTHER COURAGE, about a woman who doesn't want her sons to die in war while, at the same time, making her living from the continuation of that war.  In MOTHER DIS-COURAGE, the characters are types, rather than realistic portrayals of people.  At times, it seems that they are aware of the fact that they are characters in a play.  The types include Mr. Moneybags (Donald Gallo), an employer who is focused on the bottom line to the detriment of his workers, Mother Dis-Courage (Kate Olena), a woman who doesn't want her own son to die but doesn't seem to care if other people's sons die, and Son Dis-Courage (Rich Kraemer), a confused young man who joined the military because Mr. Moneybags told him that he had to participate in "killing other people" and in "stealing their natural resources."
    "America is great because of money and killing!"
    MOTHER DIS-COURAGE is a literary play, incorporating elements of MOTHER COURAGE and of Charles Dickens' classic story, A CHRISTMAS CAROL.  [sic] Berthod Brecht (Keith Elkins) and Britney Spears (Jeannine Giffear) appear as narrators of the tale.  Brecht's obscure poetic recitations clash with Spear's "narration" for the radio program "All Things Belabored."  Later in the play, Brecht, carrying his chains, appears as a Jacob Marley type, warning Mother Dis-Courage of both her and her son's potential fate.  Brecht tells Mother Dis-Courage that she will be visited by the Ghosts of Imperialist Invasions of the past, present, and future.  The ghosts turn out to be George Orwell (Emanuel Fried), John Lennon (Kevin Costa), and Paul McCartney (Paul Wynecski).
    The dialogue in MOTHER DIS-COURAGE is pointed and topical.  The issues brought up occupy the news headlines of today, and they include pre-emptive war, the abuse of prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, video games, George W. Bush, prejudice against Arabs, and attitudes toward China.  Despite the unpleasant reality of the issues brought up, the play never becomes tedious or tasteless.  It always stays in the realm of political satire, and, as such, makes for far better entertainment than the daily newspaper.