[NEohioPAL] Berko review: YA MAMA! @ Cleveland Public Theatre

[Roy Berko]

NINA DOMINGUE, super actress, proficient author!
 

Roy Berko
 
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)
 
--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
Lorain County
Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times                  
 
--cool cleveland.com—
 
The Cleveland area has many fine actresses.  One of the area’s female theatrical gems is Nina
Domingue.  She has proven over and
over her versatility and ability to mesmerize an audience.  
 
In YA MAMA! Domingue not only fills the stage with a multiple number
of characters, but has written an emotional biopic as well.
 
In the extended one-act YA MAMA!, Domingue, with the help of director
Cathy Hartenstein, showcases the pain and joy of being Nina.   The action is up close and
personal in Cleveland Public Theatre’s Storefront Studio where no seat is more
than three rows from the performer.  And, for the run of the show, there was almost never an empty seat.
 
Domingue takes her viewers on a journey from her New Orleans birth
place, through the suicide of her mother, a victim of Post Partum Syndrome, to
a short period of living in Cleveland with her mother’s family, back to New
Orleans when her father remarries, to the abusive treatment at the hands of her
step-mother, to her return to Cleveland where she finally finds a place of
acceptance, and flashbacks to what happens when Katrina hits the Big Easy.  We experience the birth of her three
children, and her burgeoning career as an actress and a mother.  Though the play is not quite as
polished as her performance, it’s quite a ride.
 
The set is simple.  A
series of stools.  On each surface
a symbolic item is placed.  As the
plot unfolds, items like the bottle of Drano that her mother drank to kill
herself, an apron, and a strap, are picked up as symbols of the items of
importance in the actresses life.
 
Domingue a master of facial, body and vocal expression.  At the blink of an eye she transforms
herself into a child, her four-year old son, Nina as a mommy, and a victim of
abuse.  She gives a masterful
performance.
 
Capsule judgement:  YA MAMA! is a short evening of revelation and self-discovery presented
by one of the area’s most proficient performers.  Ya Nina!
 
YA MAMA! closed its run at CPTon November 13.
 
Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info.  His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and www.NeOHIOpal, while special features appear at http://artsamerica.org.
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