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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018
THEATER: "Mother Of The Maid" Lacks Fire
MOTHER OF THE MAID * out of ****
THE PUBLIC THEATER
My Aunt Peggy was pretty much a saint. I never saw a halo or found
her spotlit by a heavenly glow. But Peggy Ann Walpole devoted her life
to helping others. She worked as a nurse in Toronto in the 1950s, butfound it just...unacceptable that women were sometimes dischargedwith nowhere to go. Prostitutes, homeless, out of jail, fleeing an
abusive husband -- these women left the hospital to wander the
streets. So Peggy simply rented a hotel room and told a woman, "Youcan stay there for the night." And then she did it again and again untilshe eventually founded Street Haven, providing shelter for women,
services to help them mainstream back into society and so much more.Aunt Peggy received every honor you can think of, from the Order ofCanada to the highest honor a layperson can be given in the CatholicChurch. She met Popes and Mother Teresa but mostly just helpedwomen...that is, when she wasn't in and out of hospitals her entire life
with one debilitating illness after another. I know women prayed for
her. And since she died in 2006, it wouldn't really surprise me in theleast if women prayed to her.
But a saint? Well, that seems strange to say the least when you
actually know someone. Aunt Peggy never mentioned a mission from
God or visitations from on high. If she had, I would have probablyrolled my eyes. Just as a prophet is never honored in their ownhometown, a saint is surely never treated as holy in their own family.
That, perhaps, was the starting point for Emmy winner Jane
Anderson's new play Mother of The Maid. It stars Glenn Close as
Isabelle Arc, whose child Joan would indeed claim a mission from Godto cleanse France of the English rabble. What would it be like to raiseMICHAEL GILTZ AT WORK
Michael Giltz is a freelance writer
based in NYC and can be reached atmgiltz@pipeline.com
FAVORITE LINKS
Americablog
Five O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's Blog
The Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPN
Radio
Cine-Blog -- George Robinson's Blog
Documents On Art & Cinema - Daryl
Chin's Blog
Brucie G's Wondrous Blog Of
Adventure and Mystery -- Bruce
Greenspan's Blog
BLOG ARCHIVE
► 2019 (7)
▼ 2018 (34)
► December (7)
a girl who would be raised up by the Church and the French court to
lead men into battle, only to be captured and burned at the stake as a
heretic? One can imagine all sorts of approaches, with Joan's familyoffering caustic commentary or perhaps revealing the deep wellspringof faith that Joan drew upon. It might be funny, with these modest
people contrasting amusingly with the French courtiers aghast or
delighted by their frankness.
Glenn Close and Grace Van Patten. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Sadly, while Mother of the Maid hints very modestly at all of these
possibilities, it succeeds at none of them or more accurately barelystrives for any of them at all. The tomboyish, blunt Joan (Grace Van
Patten) is clearly bothered by something and her mother -- no stranger
to the facts of life as a farmer's wife -- thinks Joan might be feelingsexual urges. When she sees her daughter in what we know to bereligious ecstasy, Isabelle's assumption is far more prosaic.
But no, that's not it at all. Joan reveals the truth -- that she has been
visited by Saint Catherine and is called by God to lead the French armyinto battle and defeat the British. Nonsense! And Joan's father(Dermot Crowley) beats her backside and ties the child up before shecan disgrace the family any further with her mad talk. Too late, for
Joan has already garnered attention. Before you know it, she and her
brother (Andrew Hovelson) are off to court, with Joan's mother notfar behind, just for a look around and to make sure her daughter is ok.
It's a curiously flat play. Even at the break, indeed even three-quarters
of the way through I was still trying to puzzle out exactly whatAnderson had in mind. Scenes with Kate Jennings Grant as a Lady ofthe Court felt especially beside the point. Those scenes aren't funny orinsightful or dramatic or much of anything. They feel like the sort of
scenes that may get written but are soon cut out for the simple reason
that nothing -- dramatically speaking -- happens in them. And on it► November (4)
▼ October (6)
THEATER: "Thunderbodies!"
and the Glorious Mess of...
THEATER: 'Fact" Vs Fiction;
Pale "India"
THEATER: "Love's Labour's
Lost"...But A Good Meal ...
THEATER: "Mother Of The
Maid" Lacks Fire
THEATER: "Oklahoma" Is
(Just) OK
THEATER: Bill Irwin Clowns (A
Little), The Constit...
► September (1)
► May (5)
► April (6)
► March (4)
► February (1)
► 2017 (6)
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► 2015 (14)
► 2014 (2)
► 2013 (5)
► 2012 (18)
► 2011 (15)
► 2010 (10)
► 2009 (43)
► 2008 (86)
► 2007 (781)
► 2006 (2412)
► 2005 (5)
goes, from triumphs in battle to capture to Joan's execution.
Sometimes we are with Joan and sometimes her family but never are
we remotely engaged.
Isabelle's husband accuses her of too much faith. Her daughter Joan
accuses her of not enough. It hardly seems to matter. Isabelle appears
to have an unquestioning simple faith and if she encourages her
daughter to deny the visions that came to Joan, well who can blameher? She just wants her child to live. If it's meant as a moment ofcrisis, the struggle hardly registers. The entire play we stand on thesidelines of historic events. But our perspective doesn't undercut the
grandiosity on display or bring great people down to size or offer
insight or insert humor or do anything one might hope for.
Among the tech elements, John Lee Beatty does wonders in the tiny
three-sided space of the upstairs theater this piece is staged. With thevivid assist of the lighting by Lap Chi Chu, Beatty offers up multiple
convincing scenes from a farmhouse to court to a dungeon. The cast
can do little with the material on hand, but star Glenn Close isnonetheless admirable in setting the right tone for everyone. She's toomuch of a pro to not realize the play isn't working. But Close neverrides roughshod over the work; she never tries to underline the humoror pathos on tap. She stays resolutely in key with the story when a
lesser talent might have tried desperately to cover up the flaws by
going bigger.
At the end, the mother of the Maid describes the heartache of Joan's
death and how Isabelle's husband died shortly after. She refused to
fade away. Instead, Isaballe got a cart, taught herself to read, traveledwidely and then headed to Rome where she stared down the Pope,stood before tribunals and insisted her daughter was no heretic.
Ultimately she prevailed. Well, heck, that sounds interesting and one is
tempted to say Anderson should have told that story instead. Butthere's no reason to believe that play would have been any strongerthan this one. I fear I lack faith.
THEATER OF 2018
Homelife/The Zoo Story (at Signature) *** out of ****
Escape To Margaritaville **
Broadway By The Year: 1947 and 1966 ***
Lobby Hero ***
Frozen **
Rocktopia *
Angels in America ** 1/2
Mean Girls ** 1/2
The Sting **
Mlima's Tale ** 1/2
Children Of A Lesser God ** 1/2
Sancho: An Act Of Remembrance ** 1/2
The Metromaniacs ***
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical *
The Seafarer **
Henry V (Public Mobile Unit w Zenzi Williams) * 1/2
Saint Joan **
Travesties *** 1/2
Summer and Smoke ** 1/2
My Fair Lady ** 1/2
Broadway By The Year: 1956 and 1975 ** 1/2
Bernhard/Hamlet * 1/2
On Beckett ***
What The Constitution Means To Me **
The Winning Side *
Oklahoma **
Mother Of The Maid *
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the creator of BookFilter, a book lover’s
to BookFilter! Need a smart and easy gift? Head to BookFilter ! Wondering wh
categories, like cookbooks and mystery and more? Head to BookFilter! It’s a w
you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new releases e
personal recommendations every step of the way. It’s like a fall book preview
category. He’s also the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podc
of the day with top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It’s available for
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called P
POSTED BY MICHAEL GILTZ AT 10:29 PM
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018
THEATER: "Mother Of The Maid" Lacks Fire
MOTHER OF THE MAID * out of ****
THE PUBLIC THEATER
My Aunt Peggy was pretty much a saint. I never saw a halo or found
her spotlit by a heavenly glow. But Peggy Ann Walpole devoted her life
to helping others. She worked as a nurse in Toronto in the 1950s, butfound it just...unacceptable that women were sometimes dischargedwith nowhere to go. Prostitutes, homeless, out of jail, fleeing an
abusive husband -- these women left the hospital to wander the
streets. So Peggy simply rented a hotel room and told a woman, "Youcan stay there for the night." And then she did it again and again untilshe eventually founded Street Haven, providing shelter for women,
services to help them mainstream back into society and so much more.Aunt Peggy received every honor you can think of, from the Order ofCanada to the highest honor a layperson can be given in the CatholicChurch. She met Popes and Mother Teresa but mostly just helpedwomen...that is, when she wasn't in and out of hospitals her entire life
with one debilitating illness after another. I know women prayed for
her. And since she died in 2006, it wouldn't really surprise me in theleast if women prayed to her.
But a saint? Well, that seems strange to say the least when you
actually know someone. Aunt Peggy never mentioned a mission from
God or visitations from on high. If she had, I would have probablyrolled my eyes. Just as a prophet is never honored in their ownhometown, a saint is surely never treated as holy in their own family.
That, perhaps, was the starting point for Emmy winner Jane
Anderson's new play Mother of The Maid. It stars Glenn Close as
Isabelle Arc, whose child Joan would indeed claim a mission from Godto cleanse France of the English rabble. What would it be like to raiseMICHAEL GILTZ AT WORK
Michael Giltz is a freelance writer
based in NYC and can be reached atmgiltz@pipeline.com
FAVORITE LINKS
Americablog
Five O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's Blog
The Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPN
Radio
Cine-Blog -- George Robinson's Blog
Documents On Art & Cinema - Daryl
Chin's Blog
Brucie G's Wondrous Blog Of
Adventure and Mystery -- Bruce
Greenspan's Blog
BLOG ARCHIVE
► 2019 (7)
▼ 2018 (34)
► December (7)
a girl who would be raised up by the Church and the French court to
lead men into battle, only to be captured and burned at the stake as a
heretic? One can imagine all sorts of approaches, with Joan's familyoffering caustic commentary or perhaps revealing the deep wellspringof faith that Joan drew upon. It might be funny, with these modest
people contrasting amusingly with the French courtiers aghast or
delighted by their frankness.
Glenn Close and Grace Van Patten. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Sadly, while Mother of the Maid hints very modestly at all of these
possibilities, it succeeds at none of them or more accurately barelystrives for any of them at all. The tomboyish, blunt Joan (Grace Van
Patten) is clearly bothered by something and her mother -- no stranger
to the facts of life as a farmer's wife -- thinks Joan might be feelingsexual urges. When she sees her daughter in what we know to bereligious ecstasy, Isabelle's assumption is far more prosaic.
But no, that's not it at all. Joan reveals the truth -- that she has been
visited by Saint Catherine and is called by God to lead the French armyinto battle and defeat the British. Nonsense! And Joan's father(Dermot Crowley) beats her backside and ties the child up before shecan disgrace the family any further with her mad talk. Too late, for
Joan has already garnered attention. Before you know it, she and her
brother (Andrew Hovelson) are off to court, with Joan's mother notfar behind, just for a look around and to make sure her daughter is ok.
It's a curiously flat play. Even at the break, indeed even three-quarters
of the way through I was still trying to puzzle out exactly whatAnderson had in mind. Scenes with Kate Jennings Grant as a Lady ofthe Court felt especially beside the point. Those scenes aren't funny orinsightful or dramatic or much of anything. They feel like the sort of
scenes that may get written but are soon cut out for the simple reason
that nothing -- dramatically speaking -- happens in them. And on it► November (4)
▼ October (6)
THEATER: "Thunderbodies!"
and the Glorious Mess of...
THEATER: 'Fact" Vs Fiction;
Pale "India"
THEATER: "Love's Labour's
Lost"...But A Good Meal ...
THEATER: "Mother Of The
Maid" Lacks Fire
THEATER: "Oklahoma" Is
(Just) OK
THEATER: Bill Irwin Clowns (A
Little), The Constit...
► September (1)
► May (5)
► April (6)
► March (4)
► February (1)
► 2017 (6)
► 2016 (2)
► 2015 (14)
► 2014 (2)
► 2013 (5)
► 2012 (18)
► 2011 (15)
► 2010 (10)
► 2009 (43)
► 2008 (86)
► 2007 (781)
► 2006 (2412)
► 2005 (5)
goes, from triumphs in battle to capture to Joan's execution.
Sometimes we are with Joan and sometimes her family but never are
we remotely engaged.
Isabelle's husband accuses her of too much faith. Her daughter Joan
accuses her of not enough. It hardly seems to matter. Isabelle appears
to have an unquestioning simple faith and if she encourages her
daughter to deny the visions that came to Joan, well who can blameher? She just wants her child to live. If it's meant as a moment ofcrisis, the struggle hardly registers. The entire play we stand on thesidelines of historic events. But our perspective doesn't undercut the
grandiosity on display or bring great people down to size or offer
insight or insert humor or do anything one might hope for.
Among the tech elements, John Lee Beatty does wonders in the tiny
three-sided space of the upstairs theater this piece is staged. With thevivid assist of the lighting by Lap Chi Chu, Beatty offers up multiple
convincing scenes from a farmhouse to court to a dungeon. The cast
can do little with the material on hand, but star Glenn Close isnonetheless admirable in setting the right tone for everyone. She's toomuch of a pro to not realize the play isn't working. But Close neverrides roughshod over the work; she never tries to underline the humoror pathos on tap. She stays resolutely in key with the story when a
lesser talent might have tried desperately to cover up the flaws by
going bigger.
At the end, the mother of the Maid describes the heartache of Joan's
death and how Isabelle's husband died shortly after. She refused to
fade away. Instead, Isaballe got a cart, taught herself to read, traveledwidely and then headed to Rome where she stared down the Pope,stood before tribunals and insisted her daughter was no heretic.
Ultimately she prevailed. Well, heck, that sounds interesting and one is
tempted to say Anderson should have told that story instead. Butthere's no reason to believe that play would have been any strongerthan this one. I fear I lack faith.
THEATER OF 2018
Homelife/The Zoo Story (at Signature) *** out of ****
Escape To Margaritaville **
Broadway By The Year: 1947 and 1966 ***
Lobby Hero ***
Frozen **
Rocktopia *
Angels in America ** 1/2
Mean Girls ** 1/2
The Sting **
Mlima's Tale ** 1/2
Children Of A Lesser God ** 1/2
Sancho: An Act Of Remembrance ** 1/2
The Metromaniacs ***
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical *
The Seafarer **
Henry V (Public Mobile Unit w Zenzi Williams) * 1/2
Saint Joan **
Travesties *** 1/2
Summer and Smoke ** 1/2
My Fair Lady ** 1/2
Broadway By The Year: 1956 and 1975 ** 1/2
Bernhard/Hamlet * 1/2
On Beckett ***
What The Constitution Means To Me **
The Winning Side *
Oklahoma **
Mother Of The Maid *
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the creator of BookFilter, a book lover’s
to BookFilter! Need a smart and easy gift? Head to BookFilter ! Wondering wh
categories, like cookbooks and mystery and more? Head to BookFilter! It’s a w
you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new releases e
personal recommendations every step of the way. It’s like a fall book preview
category. He’s also the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podc
of the day with top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It’s available for
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called P
POSTED BY MICHAEL GILTZ AT 10:29 PM
NO COMMENTS:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)Newer Post Older Post Home