When Portland’s Good Theater mounts a challenging contemporary drama, audience expectation is high. In recent history, the petite playhouse on Munjoy Hill has thrilled audiences with two of the best dramas seen in our regional area, “August Osage County” and “Clybourne Park.”

However, their current exploration is a brand new play in its first full scale production, Rob Urbinati’s “Mama’s Boy.”

Urbinati’s “Boy” is the infamous, mentally and emotionally aberrant assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. But in this playwright’s retelling (an imaginative mix of fact and fiction), it is his mother who proves to be the catalyst of her son’s ills and it graphically exposes Mother Oswald as a maniacal, overbearing harpy, the most psychologically twisted member of the Oswald clan.

It is a tribute to the acting performance of Betsy Aidem as Mother Oswald that audiences can muster a modicum of pathos and compassion for such a sick and despicable monster of a mother. She is a needy and crude gorgon of a parent, yet, she is a wacko with an iron will, clawing and screaming her way with a dogged persistence. Driving her family and audience members to the edge, she is a bitter pill, a noxious poison of a personality, unrelenting and smothering.

The story unfolds as Lee H. Oswald returns to the U.S. from Russia with his beautiful Russian bride. Laurel Casillo plays the young wife, Marina Oswald. At first, she is only capable of uttering just a few basicat English words and she nails the accent note-perfect. Casillo weathers the abuse and the turbulent temper of her husband as he descends deeper and deeper into disillusionment and disgust and she manages the stormy tirades of Mother Oswald with distinction. Casillo delivers a masterful performance; she is grace under fire. It is an exacting effort by a terrific actress.

The dramatic tension reaches its most poignant moment when Marina watches the live telecast of her arrested husband’s transfer in the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters moments before the intercession of Jack Ruby’s gun. Just at the prescribed moment, Mother turns off the TV, leaving the audience breathless. This was very clever playwriting.

Graham Emmons as Lee Harvey Oswald vacillates between extremes, from loving father and husband to loathsome abuser and hateful avenger. Older brother Robert Oswald is played by Erik Moody. Forced to live in his brother’s shadow, Moody’s big moment comes with his exit line when he finally tells his mother to, “SHUT-UP!”

The technical staff and the design team at Good Theater created a dark architectural environment that serves many scenes. It is painted, top to bottom, in a shaded umber permeated with an undertone of uneasy green. The floor of the set is an intimation of distorted patriotism as diffuse bands of red, white and blue traverse the space and are trod underfoot.

The action moves through a series of dismal Texas apartments occupied by the Oswald family, then to a Dallas hotel room and the county jail house visitation cell. Smartly, the back wall of the set is an oversize screen loosely disguised as a grand window. On this screen we see the iconic black and white images of Jack and Jackie Kennedy, the post-assassination newspaper headlines, the scene announcements (location and date) and the famous Kodak portrait of Oswald taken by his wife as he poses with his mail order rifle. At the end of Act One, three shots ring out and the oversize head of JFK appears on the screen as the stage fades to black. All is very well engineered and executed.

Good Theater always brings challenging and rewarding drama to its modest playhouse. The intimacy is ideally suited for strong provocative drama that is consistently well acted under the steady hand of Director Brian Allen. “Mama’s Boy” is a noble effort.

A single ticket to Good Theater ranges from $22 to $30 and a four show subscription ranges from $66 to $100 depending on the night of performance. Good Theater is addicting and the patrons at this theater are loyal fans that cherish each and every production.

Credits for the play include Director Brian P. Allen, Set Designer Craig Robinson, costumes by Justin Cote, sound and scenic projections by Steve Underwood and lighting by Iain Odlin. The cast includes Graham Emmons as Lee Harvey Oswald, Betsy Aidem as Mother Marguerite Oswald, Laurel Casillo as Wife Marina Oswald and Erik Moody as Brother Robert Oswald.

Evening performances are Wednesday through Saturday with matinees on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. For tickets call 885-5883 or visit www.goodtheater.com. “Mama’s Boy” runs through Nov. 22.