Review: In Dragon Mama, Writer-Performer Sara Porkalob Continues Her Family's Journey

Writer/performer Sara Porkalob returns to the Geffen Playhouse with the second work in her three-part Dragon Cycle of plays about her family. Dragon Lady, produced by the Geffen in fall 2024, offered a fascinating exploration of her grandmother’s roots in Manilla and her journey settling her family in the United States. Now, Dragon Mama turns its focus on Porkalob’s mother Maria in a touching and funny investigation of her mother’s sexuality and the transition from being a surrogate mom to her siblings to becoming the playwright’s mother in her own right.

Porkalob jumps into the story immediately and without context, trusting the audience to catch up quickly. Maria Jr. juggles being a child and the responsibility of caring for her little relations while their own mother works two jobs and sometimes disappears for weeks at a time. Like the elder Maria, Maria Jr. combats the responsibility being thrust upon her with irresponsibility. She steals a friend’s Walkman and dabbles in late night drinking. Mother and daughter battle as many parents and children do, but when the young lady really needs her maternal figure, Maria Sr. steps up with the needed love and support.

Porkalob is a formidable talent. As a writer, she shades her characters with such nuance that even the most limited imagination can vividly grasp each one’s essence. She is unsparing in her portrayals, offering a warts-and-all honesty that respects both her family and her audience, while still demonstrating deep love for every character.

As an actress in multi-character one-person shows, she possesses a genius reminiscent of Whoopi Goldberg. She carries on conversations with several characters at once, and the audience follows with ease. All are richly drawn characterizations, from one child’s constant nasal drip, to another’s little-boy bravado, to Maria Jr.’s pride and strength.

Director Andrew Russell, who also helmed Dragon Lady, brings a more intimate scope to this chapter of the story. Where part one was epic, featuring a complex set and a more theatrical scale, this evening unfolds in the Geffen’s smaller Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, with a single chair serving as Randy Wong-Westbrooke’s set. The simplicity in design (costumes by Sarah Lindsley, lighting by Spense Matubang) is the point, with Russell focusing attention on the mother-daughter dynamics at the heart of this volume. It works to great effect.

Geffen audiences have now invested two evenings in Porkalob’s family story, through both Dragon Lady and now, Dragon Mama. After the show, she hinted that Dragon Baby, the concluding chapter in the trilogy, may be coming soon. The only sadness is knowing that Dragon Baby will bring our tantalizing journey with her family to an end.