Lee Liebeskind is Mario. Photography by Ryan Maxwell
The colorful Italian plumber Mario has jumped, flown, fireballed, and swam his way through dozens of Nintendo adventure games, goofy spinoffs, and even a live-action film where he battled Dennis Hopper. Perhaps it’s no surprise that he got a little bored along the way.
In Flying V’s production of Brother Mario, he’s not alone in his ennui. Mario (Lee Liebeskind) is ready to hang up his hero title in exchange for a more simple life devoted to his first love: plumbing. Meanwhile, Princess Daisy (Natalie Boland) has grown tired of her constant circle of rescues, go-kart matches, and tea parties. Even the ever-optimistic Rosalina (Megan Reichelt), known best for her role in the Super Mario Galaxy spinoffs, is discovering the dark side of raising baby stars in the Comet Observatory: radiation poisoning.
Seamus Sullivan’s play, directed in this world-premiere production by Paul Reisman, is a clever conceit. But there’s some real pathos here behind these iconic figures and their increasingly desperate lives.
There’s more than meets the eye, even with characters that seem (rimshot) two-dimensional. Princess Peach (a fizzy Amber Gibson) may stubbornly cling to the status quo, waiting ever-so-patiently for her hero to arrive each day, but it soon becomes clear she has the stability of the entire kingdom on her shoulders, too. And just try not to tear up a little as the “evil” Bowser (a wryly hilarious Ryan Tumulty) describes the connection between himself and his mortal enemies.
Brother Mario is a weightier play than one might expect, but still manages to have plenty of fun with its staging. A meter for Mario’s lives flickers on and off depending on circumstances (just wait for the climactic act closure set on Mario Kart’s Rainbow Road); Bowser breathes fireballs wielded like puppets that characters idly jump over.
This is a briskly-moving play where loose ends are tied up almost too quickly. The show’s staging tricks and script will be better-appreciated by those with at least a passing knowledge of the character’s Nintendo universe.But even those without it can appreciate the play’s well-drawn-out characters (only Boo the ghost feels like a missed opportunity), and even its introspective approach towards mortality.
Brother Mario runs through March 12 at Bethesda’s Writer Center. Tickets ($20-30) are available online.
