The Negro Ensemble Company’s Production of "Daughters of the Mock" at Theatre 80 St. Marks, NYC
From Left to Right: Brenda Crawley, Kristin Dodson, Edythe Jason, Claudia McCoy Judi Ann Mason’s riveting play Daughters of the Mock, directed by Denise Dowse, just finished a successful run at Theatre 80 St. Marks in Manhattan. Starring Edythe Jason (“Maumau”), Brenda Crawley (“Oralia”), Claudia McCoy (“Madena”), Kristin Dodson (“Amanita”), and Lynne Michelle (“Gail”), Daughters of the Mock tells the story of three generations of women in the swamplands of rural Louisiana. Maumau, the grandmother, has mastered the use of herbs, roots, and potions to exact revenge on interlopers, and to control and frighten the younger women of her family. Oralia, her daughter, is clearly terrified of her mother, and begs her own two daughters to obey their grandmother’s wishes. The great mystery is, as Amanita’s friend Gail asks, “Where are the men in this family?” Edythe Jason gives a stellar performance as Maumau, and is a commanding presence as the matriarch of this family. Bren...