At this time of year, when the Tony Awards are about to be announced, I often wish that I’d seen particular productions, as some will inevitably disappear from the stages soon after the awards are announced. I realize that is happening again this year, as I read a New York Times piece about the Tony-nominated “Mother Play.” From the article, an intriguing hint of what I’m missing:
In the decades-spanning “Mother Play,” set in the Washington area where [playwright Paula Vogel] grew up, Carl (Jim Parsons, Tony-nominated for his performance) is Phyllis’s doted-on darling boy. He is also the tenacious champion of his worshipful younger sister, Martha (Celia Keenan-Bolger, likewise), a fictionalized version of Vogel. And he is the child cast out when Phyllis breaks what Vogel described as “a contract of parenting and family,” which is “that you take care of your family when they’re dying, regardless.”
So, does that contract, whether negotiated or not, exist. Did it exist as a social construct? Does it still exist as implied obligation? The play is reportedly about “forgiveness,” or as one of the actresses offers, “Age has such an impact on the way that we’re able to view our parents and their shortcomings.”
I’m sorry to miss the production, which is scheduled to close on Sunday, especially as it has a great cast, including Jessica Lange, real age 75 (how is that possible….?). But I’ll hope for awards on Sunday night, and the possibility the production might last a bit longer on Broadway.