Hayes Theater, New York
The Tony winner is as captivating as ever as a troubled matriarch but Paula Vogel’s emotionally underpowered play often struggles to meet her level
At a performance of Pulitzer prize winner Paula Vogel’s late stage Tonys contender Mother Play, opening a day before eligibility ends, one can pick from three bright and syrupy themed cocktails before purchasing a tie-in cap graced with the word MOTHER screamed in pink. The play itself only has three characters, two of whom are queer with the third played by a martini-swigging Jessica Lange, a package that feels almost algorithmically designed to appeal to a gay audience.
Even at a time of overwhelming competition on Broadway, there may well be enough check boxes ticked for some – Lange dancing to I Will Survive in a gay club definitely straddles a few – but Mother Play isn’t quite specific or emotionally searing enough to live beyond its admittedly alluring reference points. It works in moments, most of them the result of Lange’s ineffable presence, but as a whole, it’s not as commanding as her or its title demand, perhaps more estranged aunt than mother.
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