The Mammary Plays : How I Learned to Drive and The Mineola Twins

Rating:
Summary: Transfer to Brown?
Review: Anyone for transferring to Brown University? I'm ready to hop on a plane since I've discovered that Paula Vogel teaches theatre classes there, and has been doing so since 1985. It's nearly unimaginable to me to think of attending a university where this Pulitzer Prize recipient could be one of my instructors! I'm hooked after reading this book. Paula Vogel has an amazing ability to present serious subjects with relentless humor, yet still treat them in a solemn, tender, and sympathetic fashion.

"I would say that we receive great love from the people that harm us. My play dramatizes the gifts we receive from people who hurt us," she said in an interview about her Pulitzer Prize winning How I Learned to Drive. I would say this is true of both of the plays in the collection The Mammary Plays. Of course, the anthology is appropriately named because both plays discuss society's obsession with breasts. In How I Learned to Drive, the protagonist, Lil' Bit, is quite well-endowed, and this point is definitely made through the numerous comments made by members of the Greek Chorus and by her Uncle Peck. In The Mineola Twins, the two girls are physically identical, save for the "good" twin being "stacked," and the "bad" twin being "flat as a pancake." References to how well-endowed each twin may or may not be are made throughout the play. But look further. These plays are about a whole lot more than breasts.

How I Learned to Drive tells us the story of Lil' Bit and her tumultuous relationship with her Uncle Peck. Three Greek Choruses (Male, Female, and Teenage) depict various characters and provide additional humor and insight. One particularly amusing scene, among many, is when the mother and grandmother (played by the Female and Teenage Greek Choruses) argue over how to discuss sex with Lil' Bit. "You bleed like a stuck pig!" the Grandmother declares harshly. "It's not a lot of blood-it feels wonderful after the pain subsides..." the mother tries to convince Lil' Bit. The Grandmother asserts, "If she stops and thinks before she takes her knickers off, maybe someone in this family will finish high school!" Despite the countless hilarious lines delivered by the Greek Choruses (which I suspect were even more hilarious live) the play is truly centered on Lil' Bit and Uncle Peck. The reader (or viewer) can easily feel sympathy for both characters. The play is anything but stereotypical. The victimizer is also the victim. Uncle Peck obviously loves Lil' Bit, but he inevitably hurts her. The reader is led to believe that he won't do anything she doesn't want him to do, but learns at the end that the damage was already done. Yet, the reader can't help but pity both characters. There is a catharsis when Lil' Bit confronts and accepts her past, forgiving both herself and her uncle. After all, Uncle Peck said, "Family is...family," and one must be aware of the significance of that. There is a moment when Lil' Bit understands as much as anyone can be expected to understand, much like what we see in the closing scene of The Mineola Twins.

We see two dramatically different twin girls in The Mineola Twins. It raises a question about twins that has never really been answered-How can two people from the same ovum be so completely different? Each sister seems to be a curse to the other, and successfully wrecks the other's life at some point during the play. Myrna is the good one and Myra is the bad one, or at least we are led to believe that initially. Actually, Myrna is only the good one because she subscribes and conforms to society's prescribes gender roles and expectations. Myra tries to choose her own path, and is viewed as immoral because of this. The play takes us through the girls' lives through the Eisenhower, Nixon, and Bush administrations. Myra winds up being a lesbian, and director of an abortion clinic, and Myrna winds up being a nationally-known conservative radio show host. The play is not just about two warring sisters, but the political unrest from which America suffers. They are symbols that represent our nation's radically different viewpoints that are inevitably at odds with each other. Vogel cleverly tells the story of two siblings with "bad blood" while writing a political satire in the process. At the end, we have the long-awaited understanding, when a dream sequence illustrated Myra apologizing and confessing that she wishes the sisters could be closer somehow. Much like in the first play, there is a moment of acceptance, forgiveness, and understanding, as much as one could expect. Myra and Myrna have both betrayed one another, much like Uncle Peck betrayed Lil' Bit, but there is still forgiveness, and still the importance placed on family. With much satisfaction to the viewer, the characters in both plays are allowed to move on with their lives.

I'm amazed at her talent. She tackles taboo subjects with uncompromising honesty and relentless humor, but takes them quite seriously at the same time. The result is something both entertaining and uplifting. Both plays would be incredible live, I imagine. With such candid depictions of the human condition, one can leave the theater feeling quite enlightened about life in general.

Rating:
Summary: Transfer to Brown?
Review: Anyone for transferring to Brown University? I'm ready to hop on a plane since I've discovered that Paula Vogel teaches theatre classes there. Paula Vogel has an amazing ability to present serious subjects with relentless humor, yet still treat them in a solemn, tender, and sympathetic fashion.

"I would say that we receive great love from the people that harm us. My play dramatizes the gifts we receive from people who hurt us," she said in an interview about her Pulitzer Prize winning How I Learned to Drive. I would say this is true of both of the plays in the collection The Mammary Plays. Of course, the anthology is appropriately named because both plays discuss society's obsession with breasts. In How I Learned to Drive, the protagonist, Lil' Bit, is quite well-endowed, and this point is definitely made through the numerous comments made by members of the Greek Chorus and by her Uncle Peck. In The Mineola Twins, the two girls are physically identical, save for the "good" twin being "stacked," and the "bad" twin being "flat as a pancake." References to how well-endowed each twin may or may not be are made throughout the play. But look further. These plays are about a whole lot more than breasts.

How I Learned to Drive tells us the story of Lil' Bit and her tumultuous relationship with her Uncle Peck. Three Greek Choruses (Male, Female, and Teenage) depict various characters and provide additional humor and insight. One particularly amusing scene, among many, is when the mother and grandmother (played by the Female and Teenage Greek Choruses) argue over how to discuss sex with Lil' Bit. "You bleed like a stuck pig!" the Grandmother declares harshly. "It's not a lot of blood-it feels wonderful after the pain subsides..." the mother tries to convince Lil' Bit. The Grandmother asserts, "If she stops and thinks before she takes her knickers off, maybe someone in this family will finish high school!" Despite the countless hilarious lines delivered by the Greek Choruses (which I suspect were even more hilarious live) the play is truly centered on Lil' Bit and Uncle Peck. The reader (or viewer) can easily feel sympathy for both characters. The play is anything but stereotypical. The victimizer is also the victim. Uncle Peck obviously loves Lil' Bit, but he inevitably hurts her. The reader is led to believe that he won't do anything she doesn't want him to do, but learns at the end that the damage was already done. Yet, the reader can't help but pity both characters. There is a catharsis when Lil' Bit confronts and accepts her past, forgiving both herself and her uncle. After all, Uncle Peck said, "Family is...family," and one must be aware of the significance of that. There is a moment when Lil' Bit understands as much as anyone can be expected to understand, much like what we see in the closing scene of The Mineola Twins.

We see two dramatically different twin girls in The Mineola Twins. It raises a question about twins that has never really been answered-How can two people from the same ovum be so completely different? Each sister seems to be a curse to the other, and successfully wrecks the other's life at some point during the play. Myrna is the good one and Myra is the bad one, or at least we are led to believe that initially. Actually, Myrna is only the good one because she subscribes and conforms to society's prescribes gender roles and expectations. Myra tries to choose her own path, and is viewed as immoral because of this. The play takes us through the girls' lives through the Eisenhower, Nixon, and Bush administrations. Myra winds up being a lesbian, and director of an abortion clinic, and Myrna winds up being a nationally-known conservative radio show host. The play is not just about two warring sisters, but the political unrest from which America suffers. They are symbols that represent our nation's radically different viewpoints that are inevitably at odds with each other. Vogel cleverly tells the story of two siblings with "bad blood" while writing a political satire in the process. At the end, we have the long-awaited understanding, when a dream sequence illustrated Myra apologizing and confessing that she wishes the sisters could be closer somehow. Much like in the first play, there is a moment of acceptance, forgiveness, and understanding, as much as one could expect. Myra and Myrna have both betrayed one another, much like Uncle Peck betrayed Lil' Bit, but there is still forgiveness, and still the importance placed on family. With much satisfaction to the viewer, the characters in both plays are allowed to move on with their lives.

I'm amazed at her talent. She tackles taboo subjects with uncompromising honesty and humor, but takes them quite seriously at the same time. The result is something both entertaining and uplifting. Both plays would be incredible live, I imagine. With such candid depictions of the human condition, one can leave the theater quite enlightened.

Rating:
Summary: Two of the best plays I've read
Review: Paula Vogel is a talented playwright with an amazing voice and freshness. These plays are two of the most interesting I've read; very original, substantive, and entertaining. Not for the faint at heart. Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Funny stories about gender and politics
Review: The two plays in this volume have been performed recently in New England, and were among the best new plays I've seen recently. Particularly, How I Learned to Drive, as performed by the American Repertory Theater, was funny, touching, disquieting, and completely absorbing. There's more in both of these plays than I could absorb seeing them only once, however. Without question, How I Learned to Drive, which presents two complex major characters and asks us to question who has the power in their relationship and who is the victim, is the richer play. But Vogel's satire on extremism in the poltics and life-styles of Baby-boomers, The Mineola Twins, is a fitting complement to How I Learned to Drive. In both plays Vogel succeeds in disquieting us, urging us to see past black and white judgements and to understand that life in the human family (both plays contain the refrain "family is family") is complicated by many cross-currents. Consider reading these plays, even if you've seen them. (In both plays I discovered essential details I'd misunderstood when I saw the plays on the stage.) If you missed the chance to see these plays, do read them, particularly How I Learned to Drive. This is more than a story about sexual abuse; it's an extreme example of what can be true in any family, though we may be slow to admit it--that those who hurt us may also give us much love. Perhaps one sign of Vogel's sense of perspective is that this play--about the grimmest of subjects, child abuse--is as funny, at times, as it is touching.

Rating:
Summary: Gives a clear picture of sexual abuse
Review: This play does a wonderful job of bringing to life a situation often avoided in literature: sexual abuse. The author, Paula Vogel, creates the character of Li'l Bit so clearly that the reader has no trouble identifying with her. Vogel also uses Peck, the infatuated uncle, as a foil character for Li'l Bit by creating him in such a manner that forces the reader to find fault easily in him. This leads the reader to the conclusion that Li'l Bit is innocent in the horrendous acts her uncle continuously performs with and on her, which is very true. Since the acts of sexual abuse began when she was only a small child, she has grown up with this most of her life. To her it seems normal what is going on between her and her uncle, but when she finally leaves and goes on to college, she realizes how wrong it really is and finally gains enough courage to tell her uncle to stop. It is courage like this that most people, females especially, can relate to, whether they have found it for themselves or are hoping to find it in the future. This play brings that courage to life for them and makes it seem that much more attainable.

Rating:
Summary: Two are better than one
Review: This volume of two Paula Vogel plays is a very fascinating and valuable work. How I Learned to Drive deals with a taboo topic in literature and in most of society - familial sexual abuse. The lives of Li'l Bit and her Uncle Peck are displayed with a coy frankness that warrants a couple of reads to more fully understand. As the story unfolds, the readers find themselves flopping between one character and the other. You're never really sure who is abusing who.

The Mineola Twins is a very fine social satire of alternate lifestyles and obsession with power. The quirkiness of the characters and some of the absurd situations provide an extremely insightful and amusing view on Boomerism and society's interest in appearances.

Both plays are great reads - especially when taken in this one-two punch of a book. And, if you have a chance to see them on the stage, don't miss out.

Rating:
Summary: Two are better than one
Review: This volume of two Paula Vogel plays is a very fascinating and valuable work. How I Learned to Drive deals with a taboo topic in literature and in most of society - familial sexual abuse. The lives of Li'l Bit and her Uncle Peck are displayed with a coy frankness that warrants a couple of reads to more fully understand. As the story unfolds, the readers find themselves flopping between one character and the other. You're never really sure who is abusing who.

The Mineola Twins is a very fine social satire of alternate lifestyles and obsession with power. The quirkiness of the characters and some of the absurd situations provide an extremely insightful and amusing view on Boomerism and society's interest in appearances.

Both plays are great reads - especially when taken in this one-two punch of a book. And, if you have a chance to see them on the stage, don't miss out.