Mothers and Sons

[foxy]

I just bought tickets so I won't be seeing this play till next week, however it has good possibilities. The author is Terrence McNally who has written some pretty good stuff in the past. It stars Tyne Daly who also has a good track record. Previews start soon. Here's the website http://www.mothersandsonsbroadway.com hope to have a good review next week.

[Frankly Rich]

I'm looking forward to that one as well. Doesn't Tyne Daly have some good Broadway experience as a mother?

[Frankly Rich]

This is Terrence McNally's 20th production in 51 years, and they are not always winners, but when they are, I have certainly enjoyed them. Lips Together, Teeth Apart and Kiss of the Spider Woman are favorites of mine, along with Love! Valour! Compassion!. I thought The Ritz was really funny too.

[foxy]

I agree. I've seen a number of his plays and they don't always hit the mark, but when they do they are really good. I have hopes for this one. Will post my comments after I see it next week.

[Frankly Rich]

tdf members can get discount tickets for this show all week at tdf.org. Or at least as long as they last.

[foxy]

As playwrights go Terrence McNally is something of a magician. In the space of two lines he will bring you from laughter to tears and back to laughter. This is a really wonderful play and I urge everyone to see it. Tyne Daly is great as the sad, heart broken and often mean mother who never could accept her son being gay. She shows even more discomfort with his lover who survives him after her son dies of AIDS. Something that struck me during the quiet moments of the play, you could literally hear a pin drop in the theater. The play seems to end with a question mark so you can write your own ending.

[Cooper]

I took in a Wednesday matinee performance of "Mothers and Sons" which is still in previews. It's 90 minutes with no intermission... All I can say is sit back, get comfortable, and enjoy the conversation in this well written play. It has a very likeable cast of 4 talented actors, one being a child. Tyne Daly is superb... Yes, Terrence McNally has, once again, provided us with some quality entertainment.

 

http://www.mothersandsonsbroadway.com/

 

[skynyc]

I concur...I do think this is McNally's strongest work in a while. It's clear that he was writing a lot of personal stuff. And I sat there and remembered how awful those years were, and yet also realized how blessed I was to live through them. They shaped the person I am today.

 

The cast is terrific. I had some problems understanding a couple of the little boy's lines, but for me it was Frederick Weller, and not Tyne Daly who broke my heart. His character is truly almost too perfect. But the love he felt for Andre enabled him to endure Andre's mother for one last time.

 

Part of me does wish that there was a scene later that night when he and Bobby Steggert's character had a conversation about the past...and how the action of the play brought things back up that were probably well buried.

 

I remember watching the TV "prequel" Andre's mother with Sada Thompson and Richard Thomas...(and Sylvia Sydney.) It's available to watch on YouTube.

 

I think, like The Normal Heart a couple of years ago, this will be well-reviewed and should play into the summer, but the subject matter won't make it a long-time resident of the Golden. But I am looking forward to going again.

 

Tickets were on tdf for most weeknights...I saw it for $43, and had a great seat in the Front Mezz.

[Frankly Rich]

skynyc, I sure wish you could provide a link to the YouTube movie Andre's Mother. I find clips, but not the movie. It does not stream on Netflix either. You have to order the DVD. Amazon is out of it as well. Must either be very popular or few copies exist! (Even oldies.com is out of stock!)

[Frankly Rich]

Thanks to all who recommended this show. I enjoyed it immensely. I never did find a copy of

Andre's Mother though.

[Frankly Rich]

It was quite a surprise today to see Terry Teachout's review of Mothers & Sons in the Wall Street Journal. It's no Crain's, but it carries Teachout, who I usually like.

 

But he didn't like the play, calling it "by turns glib, smug, preachy, sentimental and, for about 10 minutes of its hour-and-a-half span, quite moving."

 

"The glibness is the worst part. The first hour of "Mothers and Sons," a punchline-heavy depiction of Katharine's awkward reunion with Cal, rattles on far too easily. As for the smugness, it comes to the fore whenever Katharine, who grew up in a declassé New York suburb, married a Texan and moved with him to Dallas, opens her mouth.

 

Not only does she hate gays, but she doesn't much care for Texas..." "The preachiness, predictably enough, comes toward play's end"

 

He did like the acting. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303725404579459273878875890?mg=reno64-wsj

[foxy]

I've been surprised at the rather negative reviews of this play which I really liked. I still recommend it highly.

[Frankly Rich]

Mothers & Sons is struggling, with only 50% of its tickets sold last week. That's a big drop from the week before, when they sold 70%, but even Bridges of Madison County is doing better.

[Frankly Rich]

Last week the show sold only 43% of its tickets, so one wonders if they can hold out until the Tonys. The Realistic Joneses, which sold 91%, announced that it will not extend past July 6th. What's keeping Tyne Daly on stage?

[Doe Be Doe]

I saw this last night and enjoyed it. Tyne Daly is a good actress. I like her. That said, my friend who saw the show with me pointed out that she plays the same part in every role. Maybe.

 

It was about 3/4 full last night and it's a small theatre. Not sure why it's not selling.

[MrMiniver]

I saw this last night and enjoyed it. Tyne Daly is a good actress. I like her. That said, my friend who saw the show with me pointed out that she plays the same part in every role. Maybe.

 

It was about 3/4 full last night and it's a small theatre. Not sure why it's not selling.

 

Your friend is exactly right. She does have one schtick and she does it really well but you should have seen her Cagney and Lacey version of GYPSY in which she sang about as well as I do in the shower.

[+ WilliamM]

Your friend is exactly right. She does have one schtick and she does it really well but you should have seen her Cagney and Lacey version of GYPSY in which she sang about as well as I do in the shower.

 

I saw Daly in "Gypsy" about ten days before it closed. Her acting was better than her singing, but that may be because of the difficulty of the the role. Her "Gypsy" lasted longer than any of the three other revivals (Lansbury, Peters, LuPone), but shorter than the original Broadway cast (Merman). Given that Daly was miscast (not a great singer), I give her credit for her excellent reviews and ability to act the hell out of her part as Madame Rose.

[uwsman2]

I saw it a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. Pathetically small audience, though. I wish the community would support plays like this one. It provides an interesting commentary on our lives and how they have changed.

[N13]

Thanks to all who recommended this show. I enjoyed it immensely. I never did find a copy of

Andre's Mother though.

 

Amazon is currently showing copies available:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Andres-Mother-Richard-Thomas/dp/B000E97HQC/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1401214080&sr=1-1&keywords=andre%27s+mother

[Frankly Rich]

Thanks, N13. They were out of them when I checked a few weeks ago. And now at half-price, so I immediately ordered one.

[foxy]

Interesting that no one has mentioned the HBO movie The Normal Heart. It ties in somewhat with Mothers and Sons. I guess people would prefer not to think about the AIDS crisis. It's still pretty real to me.

[MrMiniver]

Interesting that no one has mentioned the HBO movie The Normal Heart. It ties in somewhat with Mothers and Sons. I guess people would prefer not to think about the AIDS crisis. It's still pretty real to me.

 

I don't know about you but every single person I know -- including me -- was away for the Memorial Day weekend. No one in their right mind -- in this beautiful weather -- would choose to be inside watching TV. Just my opinion.

 

I'll get around to it eventually. I do hope the movie tones down the rather tone deaf political polemic I remember the play being. AIDS should have been a health crisis but some -- on all sides -- turned it into a political disease and I never thought that was very helpful. AIDS wasn't caused by politics. I will admit that I felt much less touched by AIDS as very few of my friends from that time got the disease. Perhaps I just was lucky to have friends who didn't engage in high risk behavior, who knows. But I'm grateful.

[+ WilliamM]

Interesting that no one has mentioned the HBO movie The Normal Heart. It ties in somewhat with Mothers and Sons. I guess people would prefer not to think about the AIDS crisis. It's still pretty real to me.

 

It's still pretty real to me too. I bought "The Normal Heart: The Broadway Benefit Reading" on CD in 1994 and have listened to it perhaps 50 times since. The reading is introduced by Barbra Streisand and stars Kevin Bacon, Eric Bogosian and Stockard Channing.

 

I watched season 7.1 "Mad Men" finale instead because I do not have HBO. I'll watch it with someone who has HBO. I am so glad Larry Kramer lived to see the play made into a film. Every gay man owes so much to Kramer for ACT UP and GMHC. Also: Dr. Mathilde Krim for amFAR. I realize that Kramer and Krim did not do it alone, as Krim would be the first to say.

[Frankly Rich]

I've heard mixed reports on The Normal Heart on HBO. I saw the revival at the Public a few years ago. It's not a perfect play. But I agree with foxy, the AIDS crisis is still here and attention must be paid.

[Frankly Rich]

skynyc reviewed The Normal Heart in 2011 when it played at the Public Theater:

 

http://www.companyofmen.org/showthread.php?80154-The-Normal-Heart&highlight=Kramer