Review: The Wolfe & The Bird
The solo show presents an intimate look at the relationship between a mother and daughter.
Photo by Joshua Stern
All mother-daughter relationships have their quirks.
And then there’s the relationship between Rachel Parker and her mother, Gladys.
In the 85-minute solo show, THE WOLFE & THE BIRD, directed by Alina Phelan, Parker — writer and main performer — takes us through her tumultuous childhood under Gladys’ thumb, and her own eventual escape to NYC.
This show is tough. Parker doesn’t pull any punches, giving us her truth without sugarcoating it. As we watch the story of Parker’s childhood unfold, we, along with Parker, come to the conclusion that Gladys is more than just a jaded, hard mother. She’s downright emotionally abusive. Using anger and fear tactics — such as driving Parker out to the middle of nowhere in the early hours of the morning and threatening to leave her there — Gladys plies Parker with all the reasons she would ever need to leave.
Parker doesn’t pull any punches, giving us her truth without sugarcoating it.
Parker plays a child for most of the show, but beautifully walks the line between childish and caricature. Her sincere presentation of her life — both…
