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arts&eatertaiameat
t b eat e r
Beco •
er o g
er
Lisa Kron's new show reaffirms her gift for turning family drama
into universal comedy By Michael Gillz
isa Kron, the performer and
writer who helped start come
dy's Five Lesbian Brothers and
explored her father's heritage
of the Holocaust in her ac
claimed 1997 solo piece 2.5 Minute
Ride, focuses on her mother's side of
the family in her new show, Well,
which just opened at the Public The
ater in New York City. One of Kron's
key story lines involves her mother's
detemtination to raise her family in a
racially integrated neighborhood in
Lansing, Mich.
Telling stories on Mom doesn't mean
taking her for granted. "I actually had a
dream last night that she came to see it
for 15 minutes and then walked out,"
laughs Kron, who admits her mother
has to draw on a "natural generosity" to
watch her life played out onstage.
"She's deflnitely nervous about it,"
Kron says. "But both of my parents
have a great sense of humor. I was
talking to them the other night, and I
started to laugh and told her, 'I know
I shouldn't say this, but there are
times when you're talking when I
think, Wow, I really got her down.' "
In wen she also tackles her mother's chronic illness and Kron's own battles
with chronic fatigue (which is "no
longer an issue" for her) and mixes it
all up with the natural insecurities of a
girl who was detemtined to be known
as the funniest kid in school but still
had trouble fitting in. Mom's push for
integration didn't help, of course.
"My mother in the show says, 'Well,
honey, it's true you had some tension
with some of the black kids, but you
didn't get along particularly well with
the white kids either.'
"My brother and I were complete
social nerds," admits Kron. "Complete
eggheads. We were never going to fit
in. There's this character that keeps
showing up in the play, this girl that
tortured me [in school]. She's a 9-
year-old girl, and I'm trying to do my
show, and she completely humiliates
me over and over again. We end up
having this fight onstage, and it's to
tally wonderful."
And while Mom wasn't be there for
opening night-that would be too
"meta," jokes Kron-her parents will
be seeing it soon after and then as
many times as they can. "We're actu
ally going to go to my girlfriend's par
ents' house for Passover, even though
they're Irish Catholic," says Kron,
who has been with her partner for 16
years. "And then my parents are
going to stay in town for the rest of
the week and come see the show.
And I would imagine, knowing my
mother, that she will see every per
formance while she's in town."
Will she give any notes? "She's
given me quite a few notes so far,"
laughs Kron .•
Giltz contributes regularly to publica
tions including the New York Post.
THE ADVOCATE 1571 APRll13,2004
arts&eatertaiameat
t b eat e r
Beco •
er o g
er
Lisa Kron's new show reaffirms her gift for turning family drama
into universal comedy By Michael Gillz
isa Kron, the performer and
writer who helped start come
dy's Five Lesbian Brothers and
explored her father's heritage
of the Holocaust in her ac
claimed 1997 solo piece 2.5 Minute
Ride, focuses on her mother's side of
the family in her new show, Well,
which just opened at the Public The
ater in New York City. One of Kron's
key story lines involves her mother's
detemtination to raise her family in a
racially integrated neighborhood in
Lansing, Mich.
Telling stories on Mom doesn't mean
taking her for granted. "I actually had a
dream last night that she came to see it
for 15 minutes and then walked out,"
laughs Kron, who admits her mother
has to draw on a "natural generosity" to
watch her life played out onstage.
"She's deflnitely nervous about it,"
Kron says. "But both of my parents
have a great sense of humor. I was
talking to them the other night, and I
started to laugh and told her, 'I know
I shouldn't say this, but there are
times when you're talking when I
think, Wow, I really got her down.' "
In wen she also tackles her mother's chronic illness and Kron's own battles
with chronic fatigue (which is "no
longer an issue" for her) and mixes it
all up with the natural insecurities of a
girl who was detemtined to be known
as the funniest kid in school but still
had trouble fitting in. Mom's push for
integration didn't help, of course.
"My mother in the show says, 'Well,
honey, it's true you had some tension
with some of the black kids, but you
didn't get along particularly well with
the white kids either.'
"My brother and I were complete
social nerds," admits Kron. "Complete
eggheads. We were never going to fit
in. There's this character that keeps
showing up in the play, this girl that
tortured me [in school]. She's a 9-
year-old girl, and I'm trying to do my
show, and she completely humiliates
me over and over again. We end up
having this fight onstage, and it's to
tally wonderful."
And while Mom wasn't be there for
opening night-that would be too
"meta," jokes Kron-her parents will
be seeing it soon after and then as
many times as they can. "We're actu
ally going to go to my girlfriend's par
ents' house for Passover, even though
they're Irish Catholic," says Kron,
who has been with her partner for 16
years. "And then my parents are
going to stay in town for the rest of
the week and come see the show.
And I would imagine, knowing my
mother, that she will see every per
formance while she's in town."
Will she give any notes? "She's
given me quite a few notes so far,"
laughs Kron .•
Giltz contributes regularly to publica
tions including the New York Post.
THE ADVOCATE 1571 APRll13,2004