'dragon Mama,’ Part Two Of Sara Porkalob's Epic Filipina American Family Saga, Reels Us In For More

In “Dragon Mama,” nan 2nd portion of her Dragon Cycle, writer-performer Sara Porkalob fleshes retired nan communicative of her Filipina American family. The attraction present is squarely connected her mother, different subsister who inflicts her ain stock of harm on nan way.

“How do you lick a problem for illustration Maria?” Maria herself sings these words from “The Sound of Music” astatine nan commencement of nan play. It’s a mobility that will return a agelong clip for nan characteristic to fig retired — and pinch bully reason. It’s a occurrence she made it retired of her childhood.

Maria is 8 years aged erstwhile nan play begins, surviving successful Honolulu pinch her mother, besides named Maria, whose harrowing early communicative was told successful “Dragon Lady,” the first installment of nan trilogy presented astatine nan Geffen Playhouse’s Gil Cates Theatre successful 2024. That piece, much of a solo musical, was capable to bid nan bigger stage.

“Dragon Mama,” which opened Thursday astatine nan Geffen Playhouse’s Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, affords Porkalob little opportunities to showcase her captivating singing talent (including 1 memorable spot of Whitney Houston karaoke). But nan portion is simply a much accepted coming-of-age drama, and it flourishes successful nan intimacy of nan smaller venue.

But 1 point is for certain: All of Porkalob’s characters lead epic lives. “Dragon Mama” offers snapshots of Maria’s daredevil younker successful Hawaii, her reckless adolescence successful Bremerton, Wash., and nan self-destructive spiral that leads her to task retired connected her own. A young mother astatine this points, she leaves her daughter, SaraLee, successful nan attraction of her family while she finds activity and a stabilizing lesbian narration successful Anchorage.

Sara Porkalob successful “Dragon Mama” astatine Geffen Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

There’s immoderate crippled overlap successful nan first 2 plays. Teenage Maria, forced to beryllium a 2nd mother to her younger siblings, is shown keeping nan family together while her mother goes inexplicably AWOL for weeks. And for illustration anyone who has had to turn up excessively quickly, she struggles to attain existent maturity.

Porkalob doesn’t moralize. She re-creates nan family communicative done nan cognition of a youngster who doesn’t person nan connection for neglect and abuse. Practical emergencies crowd retired large image analysis. How will her siblings eat erstwhile each nan nutrient has tally out? How tin they support a debased capable floor plan truthful that nan authorities won’t beryllium summoned erstwhile her relative Junior is getting into scrapes astatine school?

Porkalob has nan storyteller’s gift of full absorption. If nan array of characters tin sometimes beryllium challenging to benignant retired — she is possibly excessively religious to nan memoir facet of nan activity — nan vivid textures of nan generational memories bring nan activity sensually to life.

Maria’s brothers, pinch their perpetual runny noses, are summoned pinch a sniffly wipe. Her babe sister gurgling helplessly successful nan inheritance isn’t nan only 1 utterly limited connected her maternal care.

Even erstwhile mother returns from her unexplained excursion to SeaWorld, Maria still must prime up nan slack for a female incapable to support up pinch nan rent contempt moving aggregate jobs.

Maria doesn’t person nan luxury of making smart choices. When troublemaker Arlene moves successful crossed nan thoroughfare to unrecorded pinch her father, Maria falls helplessly nether her corrupting influence.

She besides falls successful love, lured into a flirty intimacy that is conscionable a crippled for Arlene but superior business for Maria. Through this one-sided romance, she discovers nan truth of her attraction, moreover arsenic she ends up sleeping pinch men to enactment connected Arlene’s bully side.

Sara Porkalob successful “Dragon Mama” astatine Geffen Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Maria’s mother warned her astir Arlene, but she refuses to wallow successful regret. She desperately wants nan babe she’s conscionable had astatine 19, nan aforesaid property her mother had her. And pinch nan preamble of precious SaraLee, nan curtain comes down connected nan first act.

The 2nd enactment focuses connected Maria’s effort to bring immoderate bid to her life. To do that, she has to time off home, separating herself from her upbringing and entrusting SaraLee to her family’s care.

In Anchorage, she finds activity connected a sportfishing boat. It’s difficult labor, but thing successful her life has been easy. Her stamina impresses her manager, Greg, a gruff cheery man who tells her astir nan cheery nine successful town, wherever she meets Tina, nan female who teaches her acceptance done unconditional love.

The turnaround isn’t easy, but Porkalob makes you attraction astir nan outcome. The travel is agelong — a touch excessively agelong for a solo activity — but nan affectional trajectory is satisfying and good earned.

Porkalob wholly immerses herself successful nan world she’s conjuring. When she yet breaks nan 4th wall to momentarily make interaction pinch nan audience, nan timing is unexpected but not astatine each jarring. The spell has been expertly cast.

Director Andrew Russell trusts Porkalob’s expertise to transfix an audience. Which she does successful a capacity that has nan tight attraction of a bully short communicative and nan theatrical immediacy of what mightiness beryllium called a communicative cabaret.

To beryllium frank, I wasn’t judge I was up for a trilogy connected Porkalob’s family history. But aft “Dragon Mama,” I tin hardly hold for “Dragon Baby,” nan 3rd and last segment, successful which presumably SaraLee will return her spot successful nan spotlight successful this bid of music-inflected dramas astir matriarchs discovering their ain powerfulness successful nan look of obstacles that would crush astir men.