‘Mother Mary’ – KJ Moran Velz. Directed by Elaine Vaan Hogue. Stage Managed by Jess Brennan. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco. Lighting Design by Darius Knight Evans. Costume Design by Nora Kempner. Sound Design by Mackenzie Adamick. Prop Design by Courtney Licata. Dramaturgy and Cultural Consulting by Carla Mirabel Rodríguez. Intimacy Direction by Jessica Scout Malone. ‘Mother Mary’ runs from October 9th – 26th at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215.
By Charlotte Snow
“Birthing a play in collaboration with a playwright is a journey into the unknown,” director Elaine Vaan Hogue begins her director’s note. Every playwright hopes that when their baby (the play) has its world premiere, that audiences will love the play as much as they do. That’s the hope; the reality is they are usually bombarded with “I think that could be changed,” “I didn’t like the ending,” or “what you should really be writing about is…” It’s rare that an audience can so clearly see the playwright’s dreams and intentions. Speaking for my audience (my partner and I), we belong to the former category and fell in love with KJ Moran Velz’s Mother Mary.
Mother Mary takes place in Southie in 1968 and centers on Jo, a Puerto Rican cabbie who openly identifies as a butch lesbian. Her already large world gets widened one day when she offers Mary, a straight down the line Catholic school teacher, a free ride to her home. They quickly bond, becoming flirtatious − albeit repressed − friends, through Jo’s free rides and a meaningful series of book swaps. But when Jo finds herself driving Mary from Southie to Western Mass, and back, a road trip full of revelations, newfound love, and healing ensues.
All the components of this production are in top form. KJ Moran Velz wrote a beautifully sapphic, honest play that never traumatized its audience and allowed for multiple moments of tense conflict. Elaine Vaan Hogue’s direction is as stylish as it is striking. All of the design elements work in beautiful harmony to bring Boston in the late sixties to life. And I’d be remiss to leave out Adriana Alvarez and Tara Forseth, who beautifully embodied Jo and Mary, respectively. The whole production lay on the shoulders of their chemistry, and they delivered the fireworks. There were many times when I honestly forgot I was watching a play.
Perhaps the most substantial criticism of Mother Mary is that there’s too much of a good thing. All of the scenes are expertly written, revealing growth for Jo and Mary through the resolution of challenging conflicts, with the built-up tension resolving through the cathartic release of either tears or laughter. Independently, the scenes are exemplary. Experienced in sequential order, they feel long, in that there was not enough variety of scene length to create the flow the play desires. Given that this production is a world premiere, the script will probably grow and evolve in subsequent productions.
Secondly, the hour and forty minutes with no intermission is a lot to ask of an audience. The choice to make it a one-act is especially odd, given that the road trip provides a distinct shift in the raising of the stakes and a change in tone that an intermission could have strengthened.
Mother Mary is a play about the past that speaks directly to us now. Increasingly, the world is becoming a harrowing place, with political systems designed to further divide us. Mother Mary is the soft and powerful reminder that we share more similarities than differences and that radical kindness drives away hate and prejudice.
For more information and tickets, go to: https://www.bostonplaywrights.org/
