Playwright: Edward Thomas-Herrera
At: Live Bait Theatre
Phone: (773) 871-1212; $10
Runs through; Aug. 14
Bookended by Argentine icon Carlos Gardel's sensuous tango songs, Edward Thomas-Herrera takes just over an hour to introduce his mother on the occasion of her death—after a prolonged cancer battle—and funeral in Houston in 2002. What could be more stereotypical or more heart-breaking than death tearing apart a gay boy and his mom? But death doesn't end a relationship, it merely alters it; and that's the point of Fun While It Lasted, Thomas-Herrera's tribute to Ana Concepcion Herrera y Perez de Thomas.
The work is psychodrama for the writer/performer's own grief; a purpose he acknowledges by calling his observations a 'personal grief narrative' and a 'pattern of onanistic fascination.' Written as a series of vignettes, the material describes and comments on family, funeral rites, Roman Catholicism, boyfriends and standard profound issues such as why bad things happen to good people and good cats. The details are personal, but the experiences are universal, so just about any member of the audience will be able to relate. Once he's introduced his solemn subject, Thomas-Herrera approaches it with surprising good humor. In other words, he's his usual witty, extremely wry, generally sweet-natured but occasionally sardonic self.
There's discovery, too, as the author finds out things about his mother he had not known, and perhaps things about himself. He learns that in her native El Salvador, Mom had been a newspaper advice columnist, yet in his own experience 'none of my mother's advice was any good. It was too steeped in Roman Catholicism to be of use to a gay boy in love with Morrissey.'
But the heart of the work, near the end, is a litany Thomas-Herrera recites of small events in his relationship with his mother, prefacing each one with the words, 'And one time ... (she/we did this or that).' It is a list of completely unimportant yet unforgettable moments of tenderness, care, concern and hope; things as simple as tucking in bed or a shared lunch. And in that brief litany, Thomas-Herrera spans 30 years of his life with his mother and tells us exactly how they loved each other.
Guided with simplicity by director Stephanie Shaw, the solo artist performs on a small platform trimmed with skirting and drapes, all of it blood-red, looking for all the world like a gaudy casket lining. Against this, Thomas-Herrera's white shirt and black slacks are a cooling contrast. He's not a great performer and really makes little attempt to 'act' his material other than affecting the Latino accents of some relatives. But then, his work is not about creating other characters; it is about creating himself in a public way, and Thomas-Herrera is a low-key master of the task.