by Mel Gussow

"The Grandma Plays" is a kitchen-sink comedy that provides no sustenance either for its actresses or for the audience. Ostensibley the chronicle of pivotal moments in the life of a Brooklyn woman named Pearl Berman, the Todd Graff play is instead a trio of flimsy character sketches.

The central character int he show at the Vineyard Theatre is, we are told, based on Mr. Graff's own grandmother, potrayed over a period of four decades by Renee Taylor. Early in the play, one has the dismaying feeling that the author has collected an anthology of his relative's remarks and plans to use every one of them in his play.

Ms. Taylor is introduced at 49, praying for her three sons to survive World War II. She enlists the dubious talents of a neighborhood gypsy (Elżbieta Czyżewska) in her cause. Casting a spell, the gypsy strews Pearl's kitchen with crosses and amulets while her hostess counters with malapropisms. Pearl is susposed to be more knowing than she seems - a worldly woman and the kosher salt of the earth.

The second sketch moves deeper into cliche with a conflict, 26 years later, between Pearl and her prodigal daughter (Alma Cuervo), who is about to uproot herself and her children to California. This leads to bicoastal humor, offering Pearl and opertunity to comment on Barabara.