Way Theatre hits a high ‘Water’ mark

REVIEW. The Way Theatre Artists’ production of “The Memory of Water” is about as close to perfect as live theater gets. On a shoestring budget and in a fairly small space, the fledgling troupe is making the kind of theater that would easily rival anything its big-scale, big-budgeted contemporaries have offered.

As three very different women descend upon Yorkshire, England for their mother’s funeral, propriety gives way to dysfunction and hilarity, heartache and humanity.

Teresa (Lyralen Kaye), the eldest, and by geographic default, the one who arranged for her ailing mother’s custodial needs to be met, is the most sensible of the three. Middle sister Mary (Amanda Good Hennessey), the favorite, has distanced herself by focusing on her medical career and a 5-year affair with someone else’s husband. Rounding out this nutty family tree is Catherine (Shawna O’Brien), the relationship-challenged youngest, who lives to party and spouts wisdom like “broke doesn’t mean you can’t buy things.”

Lifelong petty jealousies, deeply-hidden family secrets and irrational resentments surface as the trio come to grips with their loss. And when the booze begins to flow, new levels of familial dysfunction are quickly achieved much to the delight (and no doubt, identification) of the audience.

Kaye is superb as the stoic, seemingly together Teresa, especially when a joint and a bottle of whiskey seem to make her world unravel. Hennessey nails every neurotic nuance of the seemingly successful Mary, but it’s her final scene that delivers a subtle, but powerful knockout punch.

Initially, Catherine may seem to be comic fodder, but as the story unfolds, her frailty and vulnerability, beautifully captured by O’Brien, create an incredibly complex portrait of a desperately unhappy young woman.

Rounding out the ensemble are Michael Steven Costello as Teresa’s everyman husband Frank, Marc Harpin as Mary’s married boyfriend Mike and Elizabeth Brunette in an eerily interesting turn as the girls’ late mother Violet.

Though Greg Maraio’s direction is impeccable, he also deserves rave reviews for his work as costume designer and co-set designer with Julie Ohl. The thoughtful use of clothing as both memory and set pieces is especially impressive.

The ensemble might be better off to forego their inconsistent English accents, but this is a minor quibble with a major-league quality production.

‘The Memory of Water’
Through May 31
Calderwood Pavilion Hall A
Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St., Boston
MBTA: Orange line to Back Bay
$14-$28, 617-933-8600
www.wayplays.com