By John Lyle Belden

Taking the obvious metaphor, the Pulitzer-finalist drama “Stew” by Zora Howard, presented by Naptown African American Theatre Collective at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, is a blend of various ingredients.

It’s a story of memory, aging, change, loss, womanhood, and family, simmering in the perspective of working-class Black life in late 20^th-century America. It’s multi-generational, set in the home of Mama Tucker (Vickie Daniel), with her daughters Lillian (Dominique Moon) and Nelly (Clarissa Todd) and Lillian’s children – a girl known as Lil’ Mama (Tracy Nakigozi) and the boy, Junior, who should be arriving from a friend’s house at any minute.

It’s that one day a year when folks get together at the local church and one thing that will be expected is Mama’s homemade stew. From the beginning of the day, a broken cup on the floor, everything seems to interfere with getting the food cooked on time. Lillian, visiting long-term (without her husband, who apparently won’t be coming after all) is trying too hard to help and frequently remarks on Mama’s health. Nelly, being 17, still lives there, but she has “a man” and a plan to get away; for now, though, she has endless chores garnished with maternal disapproval.  Lil’ Mama is at that middle-school age where every little thing is “sooo haaard” and her every answer is “I don’t knoooow,” but she’s still big Mama’s little girl, even when she lazily grabs the entirely wrong size cooking pot.

There are more than vegetables simmering in this house. Each one of these ladies has a secret. The least disruptive one is of Lil’ Mama auditioning for her school’s play, Shakespeare’s “Richard III.” This allows Mama to remind all that she was part of the church theatre league, and to recite the Bard’s expressions of a woman’s grief from memory.

Daniel, initially the understudy for Mama (Renee Lockett left due to illness), gives a commanding performance with the boldness of a woman knowing she has Jesus by her side and generations of strong Black women behind her. Ever maternal, she goes from scolding to tender and back in a heartbeat. This day’s changes and surprises test Mama’s resolve, sometimes severely, but we see her rising to nearly every challenge.

Moon gives us in Lillian the complexity of a woman dealing with a lot, including the state of her marriage and the lives of her children. Todd, on the other hand, portrays Nelly naively certain of how her life will play out, while knowing deep down it’s about to get a lot more complicated.

Nakagozi has mastered the art of playing an absolute brat – and not in a cute way, though she can be that as well. It’s apparent that Lil’ Mama largely can’t help being like this, and somewhere in all the frustration is a little girl who really does want to be good and helpful.

LaKesha Lorene directs, keeping “Stew’s” recipe at a low boil with plenty of humor and heart. She noted before our performance that a number of students in NAATC’s Education for All program worked on staff and crew for this production.

The struggles, laughter, shouts, and tears here are relatable to any of our families, though one aspect that will define this day, felt keenly by the Tuckers, is sadly too familiar. Come and savor what these women have to share. Performances of “Stew” run through March 30 at the Phoenix, 705 N. Illinois St., Indianapolis. Get tickets at phoenixtheatre.org or naatcinc.org.

While you’re at the show, order the new NAATC fundraiser cookbook!