If Mama Ain’t Happy…

Nothing triggers resentment and affirmation in equal measure like a family get-together, and that unsteady ceremony looms large in playwright Cheryl L. West’s family comedy-drama Jar the Floor. The play follows four single African-American women, spanning four generations, on a visit to the Chicago suburbs for their great-grandmother MaDear’s 90th birthday. Originally produced in 1991, the show is still perfectly poignant today. West’s plot and characters make a big impression on unsuspecting audiences — the Seattle Times has called Jar the Floor “boisterous, earthy, enraged, and insightful,” which pretty much sums it up — but given that it rounds out the 26th season of Northampton’s estimable New Century Theatre, we can expect the production to capture the empathy lurking beneath bitter words, and to convey big conflicts with grace.

Jar The Floor: July 28 to Aug. 6. $15-$32. New Century Theatre, 122 Green St., Northampton. (413) 585-3220, newcenturytheatre.org.