Going to the Far - and Funny - Side of the Mother-Son Relationship

The new play at ART Station puts a fresh twist on the all-too-familiar mother-son bond.

Written by Sam Bobrick and his wife, Julie Stein, "The Outrageous Adventures of Sheldon & Mrs. Levine" tells the story of Doris Levine and her 31-year-old son Sheldon through letters written to one another. While living thousands of miles apart, moving to areas such as the Middle East to California to Newark, N.J., they still somehow manage to affect one another to comedic extremes through a simple pen and paper, when today there's Skype, cellphones and Facebook.

"They're very colorful characters," said Susan Shalhoub Larkin, who plays Mrs. Levin. She has also acted in television series such as "Monk" and "House of Payne."

Alongside Larkin, Benjamin K. Glaser plays the part of son, and even though other characters are mentioned in the dialogue, they are the only actors in the play.

"I play a lot of silly characters," said  Glaser, who's also making his Georgia theatrical debut with "Sheldon and Mrs. Levine. "They're more fun."

In the beginning, Larkin's character starts off as a stay-at-home, talk-show TV addict who's overprotective of Sheldon, who (rightfully) believes that she's ruining his life. (In his defense, in the story Mrs. Levine pays Sheldon's wife $10,000 to leave him, which she does).

As time goes on, though, Mrs. Levine and Sheldon's personalities develop, but their new characteristics are never in the middle of normalcy; they're always in the far extremes somewhere. One hilarious example is when Doris takes a clairvoyance class and completely devotes her life to serenity and forgiveness, which is almost opposite to the controlling and manipulative side of her from before.

Prison, cross-dressing, monks and Elvis Presley are among other items that turn this story into an adventure that may take a second to realize what's happening.

"The play is extremely timely on information overload," said David Thomas, director of the play and artistic director of ART Station. "How can you not feel like a lunatic keeping up with this stuff?"

He said that the letter exchange between mother and son is obviously a very old form of communication, but it's "juxtaposed with modern technology" by merely mentioning Tweeting through Twitter, to keep every plot point up to date.

While the show starts off crazy and comedic enough to viewers, certain parts turn the storyline into a serious one. One particular point and also a pinnacle moment of the performance is when Mrs. Levine recites a letter that comes off as a monologue. While talking about life in general, she has an emotional epiphany that reminds audience members of the reality of what life is.

What's probably most interesting about the epiphany is that it's still written as a letter. This formation is what differentiates this show from others. While most of the time both characters share the stage simultaneously, they never physically interact with one another because they're actually thousands of miles apart. They never actually speak or look directly at one another, but rather at the letter they're writing, into space or directly at the audience.

Even though this format may seem a bit odd at first, viewers seemed to get used to it quickly.

"It doesn't feel like a lecture," said Thomas. "It's a fun play."

All in all, it's a delightful story that is sure to bring at least a few smiles and laughs to every audience member. Even after all the hardships and crazy events that take place in both their lives, Sheldon and Mrs. Levine's characters end their story on a happy note.

"The Outrageous Adventures of Sheldon & Mrs. Levine" is an adaptation from a book that was published in 1994 by the play's writers, Sam Bobrick and Julie Stein. Performance dates are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. until March 6. Tickets are $23 for students and seniors and $27 for adults.  Tickets can be purchased at the ART Station box office or online here.