Tiffany Israel, Brooks Institute of Photography

Morgan Rusler (seated), Stephanie Zimbalist, and Marcia Rodd are, for better or worse, all in the same family in David Rambo’s new play The Spin Cycle.

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“All these baby-boomer women—the biggest number—and all of a sudden the glaciers are melting!” says Mikey (Morgan Rusler), in one of The Spin Cycle’s most humorous moments. Directed by James O’Neil, The Spin Cycle is David Rambo’s new three-person show, and it features Stephanie Zimbalist as Wendy, a menopausal, Florida-living, money-making sister; Rusler as Mikey, an immature, daughter-loving, mama’s boy; and Marcia Rodd as their much cherished mom. It’s in this family’s comfortable suburban home that life is spun, folded, unfolded, and washed—like Mom’s laundry—and where Wendy and Mikey learn that, as the playwright Rambo puts it, “We must go home again in order to go on.”

The Spin Cycle’s comedy arises not only from the hilarious acting on the part of each of these fine actors, but also out of Rambo’s brilliantly clever writing style. Point of view revolves with a kind of centrifugal force, as Mom, Wendy, and Mikey each give us their individual versions of what is happening. Of course, Wendy and Mikey are the typical siblings—as in, they fight. Wendy’s DIY approach to life tends to clash with the world view generated by Mikey’s obvious Oedipus complex. But Wendy and Mikey are in their late forties or fifties, and the two are still bickering as if they were children. However, through The Spin Cycle, sister and brother learn to cooperate in order to help each other out with their precious mother’s inevitable death. Life omits and life lies, or rather the people in one’s life do these things, making perception a key factor in decisions and relationships. The Spin Cycle touches on such strong themes as the nature and meaning of success and love, but most of all, it explores the idea that growing up means moving on, or, as the mom puts it, “The moment you know you’re not immortal is when you grow up. You’re all gonna die!”

The Spin Cycle continues to play at Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre through August 24, so if you find yourself typically amused by women “going through euphemisms,” brothers running around naked at 40, and mothers lying about putting Snooks to sleep, please come get your hair spun by The Spin Cycle.

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