Mala

By: Melinda Lopez

Narrated by: Melinda Lopez

Length: 1 hr and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

An utterly unsentimental journey toward the end of life, Mala is an irreverent exploration of how we live, cope, and survive in the moment. Grounded in distinctive emotional language and sharp humor, this powerful one-woman show written and performed by Melinda Lopez (Sonia Flew) dances between a mother’s growing frailty and a daughter’s quest for grace—all set during an epic Boston winter. Rather than depict a right way, the play opens the door for conversation regarding our universal struggle to support those we love in dying, especially when all we’ve ever focused on is surviving.

Funny, brutally honest, and ultimately cathartic, Mala—which won the Elliot Norton Award for Best New Play in 2017—puts a sharp focus on what it means to put our loved ones first, right to the very end, and what happens when we strive to be good but don’t always succeed.

Mala was written with the support of the Mellon Foundation’s National Playwright Residency Program, administered in partnership with Howlround. Mala was originally produced by Arts Emerson. Special thanks to P Carl, David Dower, Peter DuBois and the Huntington Theatre Company.

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©2019 Melinda Lopez (P)2019 AO Media LLC

Amazing performance

Usually I start a review with talking about the content and then going onto the narration. But here I start with narration - because it is amazing. Extremely good. Melinda Lopez is brilliant. I cannot praise her performance enough.

She fills the performance with emotion - excitement, anger, disappointment, fear, amusement, sadness, loss. It's all there, in the best way. You can hear her voice shake with fear and sadness as she discusses the events of the story. As a listener you are carried on the journey with Lopez because of her narration.

There is swearing in this - in both English and Spanish - so if you have a problem with that, this is probably not for you. There is small bits of ethereal music between sections, and the occasional sound effect, but it is all used very sparingly and doesn't overwhelm the storytelling.

'Mala' is the story of a Cuban-American family. The story of a daughter, the younger daughter, the 'bad' daughter, dealing with her elderly mother as the mother becomes feeble, and sick, as old age takes over. It is about the pain, confusing, self blame, fear and love of watching a strong woman waste away. It goes through the ups and downs and the mother deteriorates and improves, as she has good days and bad days.

It is not told in a linear fashion, with that narrator jumping around in time, giving events out as they come to mind. Sometimes this is telling of events as they happen, sometimes giving background to events. It's vignettes of the relationship of mother and daughter, especially towards the end of life. It's the daughter working through the changes and the grief, while also being confronted by her own mortality.

The story is really good, and the narration is amazing. I enjoyed this story way, way more than I ever expected I would.

[If you enjoy this review please check out my other reviews. I review a lot of small press and indie books - support the small guys and you may find something new you will love]

Hardest thing to do

I have searched for a book which I could read where someone could describe their experience of what it felt like to them to experience the decline and death of a beloved parent. Thank you for writing this, because it makes me feel normal. The narration is perfect.

Absolutely beautiful

So real and raw. An emotive, thought provoking and reflective piece. It's amazing how the universe sends you toward a path at times, a path of clarity, in times of uncertainty. That's where I find myself at this moment in time and this piece resonated with me at such a deep and profound level. Thank you for enriching my mind and soul.

Real

Well worth the journey, Mala takes you to places in and of the heart.

Short But (Bitter)sweet

Short but sweet. Extremely tactile and personal. Very well performed. I was moved. Impressive work. [AUDIBLE]

Really enjoyed this!

Very captivating story. Was only planning to listen to chapter one tonight, but finished the book in one sitting!

So true

My heart is so heavy right now. I just finished listening to “ Mala” and the experiences Melinda describes were so vivid . I could feel her pain in what she went through with her parents death. You see, I recently lost my mom at the age of almost 92 by one month and watched her deteriorate quickly within 2 weeks after being told for about 3 years - “ she only has about 6 months to live”.
My mom was from Mexican descent but her personality was also tough and very independent. It was very hard for her to give up her independence making the transition from home care to nursing home and finally hospice back at her youngest daughters house-was not only hard on her but on each one of us (9 children) to see her slipping away and her fighting all the way to the end - bad words and all- blaming us,her caretakers, for not “doing it right”.
Melinda had me in tears as she described her own struggles and trying to find forgiveness for choices she made in caring for both parents.
Thank you Melinda, for helping me know that it is ok to love and let go and wonder how will we be when our time comes and hope our children have a better understanding of it.

I can relate!

I made the mistake of listening this on a long train ride home. I started bawling, somebody gave me a napkin and I told them about the book. MALA gets 5 stars and a tissue from me.

You'll laugh through your tears

This was such an honest look at the unglamorous nature of taking care of others and it was great.

A True Depiction of Life

In the grand scheme of things, our life here on earth is quite ephemeral, and I thank you for bringing this “forbidden” topic to life! I agree with you, our society does not prepare us well for death and/or dying! I am a retired psychology professor who always discussed every aspect of life and death with my students, but your depiction was incredible - it was real. You capture the true essence of life’s fateful, endearing, conclusion including the heartache, the joy, and the humor that goes along with the daily struggles. My sister and I are currently dealing with my mom, cancer, and now Hospice. We have experienced all of the emotions and many of the same scenarios that you and your family endured. We are very grateful for your work. I wish I would’ve been able to see the performance live on stage. Cheers!