‘Mother Play’ Brings Jessica Lange Back to Broadway in a Family Tale That Blends Humor with ‘Wicked Darkness’
variety.comLexi Carson Eight years after her last visit to Broadway, Tony Award winner Jessica Lange returns to the stage in “Mother Play,” a true story about a dysfunctional family with themes of love, loss, forgiveness and a “wicked” sense of humor. “I wanted to do a new play, something brand new.
When I read it months ago, it just triggered the imagination. I liked it immediately,” Lange told Variety at the show’s premiere on Thursday. “It was an opportunity to do something that’s never been done before.” “Mother Play” opened April 25 at the Helen Hayes Theatre.
It’s directed by Tina Landau (“The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!”) and written by Paula Vogel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (“How I Learned to Drive”).
The story is based on Vogel’s life and complex relationships with her mother and brother. It’s led by a three-person ensemble in which Lange plays Phyllis, (Vogel’s mom) Jim Parsons plays Carl (Vogel’s brother) and Celia Keenan-Bolger (“To Kill a Mockingbird”) plays Martha (Vogel, herself).
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