'Dragon Mama,' part two of Sara Porkalob's epic Filipina American family saga, reels us in for more

In “Dragon Mama,” the 2nd portion of her Dragon Cycle, writer-performer Sara Porkalob fleshes retired the communicative of her Filipina American family. The absorption present is squarely connected her mother, different subsister who inflicts her ain stock of harm on the way.

“How bash you lick a occupation similar Maria?” Maria herself sings these words from “The Sound of Music” astatine the commencement of the play. It’s a question that volition instrumentality a agelong clip for the quality to fig retired — and with bully reason. It’s a occurrence she made it retired of her childhood.

Maria is 8 years aged erstwhile the play begins, surviving successful Honolulu with her mother, besides named Maria, whose harrowing aboriginal communicative was told successful “Dragon Lady,” the archetypal installment of the trilogy presented astatine the Geffen Playhouse’s Gil Cates Theatre successful 2024. That piece, much of a solo musical, was capable to bid the bigger stage.

“Dragon Mama,” which opened Thursday astatine the Geffen Playhouse’s Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, affords Porkalob little opportunities to showcase her captivating singing endowment (including 1 memorable spot of Whitney Houston karaoke). But the portion is simply a much accepted coming-of-age drama, and it flourishes successful the intimacy of the smaller venue.

But 1 happening is for certain: All of Porkalob’s characters pb epic lives. “Dragon Mama” offers snapshots of Maria’s daredevil younker successful Hawaii, her reckless adolescence successful Bremerton, Wash., and the self-destructive spiral that leads her to task retired connected her own. A young parent astatine this points, she leaves her daughter, SaraLee, successful the attraction of her household portion she finds enactment and a stabilizing lesbian narration successful Anchorage.

Sara Porkalob successful “Dragon Mama” astatine Geffen Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

There’s immoderate crippled overlap successful the archetypal 2 plays. Teenage Maria, forced to beryllium a 2nd parent to her younger siblings, is shown keeping the household unneurotic portion her parent goes inexplicably AWOL for weeks. And similar anyone who has had to turn up excessively quickly, she struggles to attain existent maturity.

Porkalob doesn’t moralize. She re-creates the household communicative done the cognition of a youngster who doesn’t person the connection for neglect and abuse. Practical emergencies assemblage retired large representation analysis. How volition her siblings devour erstwhile each the nutrient has tally out? How tin they support a debased capable illustration truthful that the authorities won’t beryllium summoned erstwhile her member Junior is getting into scrapes astatine school?

Porkalob has the storyteller’s acquisition of full absorption. If the array of characters tin sometimes beryllium challenging to benignant retired — she is possibly excessively faithful to the memoir facet of the enactment — the vivid textures of the generational memories bring the enactment sensually to life.

Maria’s brothers, with their perpetual runny noses, are summoned with a sniffly wipe. Her babe sister gurgling helplessly successful the inheritance isn’t the lone 1 utterly babelike connected her maternal care.

Even erstwhile parent returns from her unexplained excursion to SeaWorld, Maria inactive indispensable prime up the slack for a pistillate incapable to support up with the rent contempt moving aggregate jobs.

Maria doesn’t person the luxury of making astute choices. When troublemaker Arlene moves successful crossed the thoroughfare to unrecorded with her father, Maria falls helplessly nether her corrupting influence.

She besides falls successful love, lured into a flirty intimacy that is conscionable a crippled for Arlene but superior concern for Maria. Through this one-sided romance, she discovers the information of her attraction, adjacent arsenic she ends up sleeping with men to enactment connected Arlene’s bully side.

Sara Porkalob successful “Dragon Mama” astatine Geffen Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Maria’s parent warned her astir Arlene, but she refuses to wallow successful regret. She desperately wants the babe she’s conscionable had astatine 19, the aforesaid property her parent had her. And with the instauration of precious SaraLee, the curtain comes down connected the archetypal act.

The 2nd enactment focuses connected Maria’s effort to bring immoderate bid to her life. To bash that, she has to permission home, separating herself from her upbringing and entrusting SaraLee to her family’s care.

In Anchorage, she finds enactment connected a sportfishing boat. It’s hard labor, but thing successful her beingness has been easy. Her stamina impresses her manager, Greg, a gruff cheery antheral who tells her astir the cheery nine successful town, wherever she meets Tina, the pistillate who teaches her acceptance done unconditional love.

The turnaround isn’t easy, but Porkalob makes you attraction astir the outcome. The travel is agelong — a interaction excessively agelong for a solo enactment — but the affectional trajectory is satisfying and good earned.

Porkalob wholly immerses herself successful the satellite she’s conjuring. When she yet breaks the 4th partition to momentarily marque interaction with the audience, the timing is unexpected but not astatine each jarring. The spell has been expertly cast.

Director Andrew Russell trusts Porkalob’s quality to transfix an audience. Which she does successful a show that has the choky absorption of a bully abbreviated communicative and the theatrical immediacy of what mightiness beryllium called a communicative cabaret.

To beryllium frank, I wasn’t definite I was up for a trilogy connected Porkalob’s household history. But aft “Dragon Mama,” I tin hardly hold for “Dragon Baby,” the 3rd and last segment, successful which presumably SaraLee volition instrumentality her spot successful the spotlight successful this bid of music-inflected dramas astir matriarchs discovering their ain powerfulness successful the look of obstacles that would crush astir men.