Theater Review: Mala

                     Melinda Lopez in "Mala"

“Mala” is a piece like none you have ever seen. I say that confidently, having heard several people (myself included) walk out of the show saying that very thing.

Melinda Lopez, a Cuban American playwright and actor of some renown, has written and performs a breathtaking solo piece about something most of us will face at some point: the physical decline and eventual death of parents.

Her presentation is astonishingly, sometimes brutally honest, but also surprising, compassionate and often even funny. It runs through June 12 at The Old Globe’s White Theatre.

Caring for an elderly parent can be a gift, but can also be hard, especially in Mala’s case. Her mother, a force of nature, was always the one to get things done – until the time when she fell and failed to understand why she woke up under the table. But she refused to go to the hospital because “it didn’t seem necessary.” She is eventually diagnosed with a subdural hematoma.

Her gradual loss of independence is compounded by dementia and growing impatience. She’s not used to being either waited on or told what to do, so when Mala tries to get her to do something, the response is often a hissed “Mala!” that makes caregiving that much harder.

The word “mala” means “bad,” but when the word is hurled at her by her mother, it means more like bad to the core. 

How can we cope in challenging situations like this? With a lot of patience and as much humor as one can muster.  “I didn’t know how hard it is to be everything to someone who needs it,” Mala notes.

Mala’s father will also fall; he will break his hip. Not as set against medical help as his wife, he will go to “a place” where he will be given morphine and eventually die of hypoxia – or, as Mala puts it, “not breathing.”)

The show is helped by a fine set: a living room with hardwood floors, a small table and a chest. The set is surrounded by white sparkly “snow,” telling us Mala lives in a cold climate.

Lopez handles her job extremely well, walking around and letting everyone in the audience see her and her expressions. She’s been well miked so that all can hear everything she says.

“Mala” is a piece that should be seen. Yadira Correa will perform a Spanish language version from May 29 to June 12 (dates below).

The details

The English schedule for “Mala” is Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m.; Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m.

The Spanish language schedule (by Yadira Correa) is Thursday, May 19 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 21 at 8 p.m.; Tuesday, May 24 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, May 28 at 2 p.m.; Wednesday, June 1 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, June 5 at 7 p.m.; Friday, June 10 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, June 12 at 2 p.m.

Tickets: www.TheOldGlobe.org or (619) 234-5623