| re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: | Delvino 09:06 am EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - sergius 12:01 am EDT 03/13/14 |
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| "Perhaps in keeping with the mainstreaming of homosexuality in our cultural moment, there's something parochial about it." I'm unclear about this statement. "Mainstreaming" is a glibly reductive way of describing a major civil rights struggle, one with almost daily sociopolitical ramifications (see Brewer, Jan). By labeling McNally's play "parochial," you seem to be suggesting a kind of narrow niche entertainment. Would one say that about "Raisin in the Sun" when it appeared? McNally is writing with great passion about a specific moment in history, one in which many artists are exploring seismic shifts in societal and individual views on homosexuality and their intersection. Is his play "parochial" because he writes with the insider's knowledge, and then speaks ex-cathedra? This is a playwright in his 70s who is writing what he knows. I respect your opinions, but I'm unclear about what you're taking McNally to task for, from a standpoint of "issue play," beyond your objections to his (supposed) sloth in terms of craft. Do you feel the play exploits its own topicality, and is unfair to its subject matter? Or pandering to an audience over-eager to see anything gay? | |
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| re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: | LegitOnce 11:43 am EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - Delvino 09:06 am EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Would one say that about "Raisin in the Sun" when it appeared? No, but I would say it about a cheap knockoff of "Raisin in the Sun" if it first appeared in 1990, i.e., more than 30 years since the subject matter was really risky and current. | |
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| re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: | marshvale60 05:27 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - LegitOnce 11:43 am EDT 03/13/14 |
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| For those who care to listen, the subject matter is being explored in ways never previously discussed--AIDS and its ramifications, the current state of equality and the impact that HIV had on interpersonal relationships as well as the changes in the epidemic, i.e., those diagnosed before the cocktail and those after. For those of us who lived it and showed up, there is breathtaking specificity on that stage. It's a gorgeous piece of writing beautifully rendered. The very fact of its brilliance seems to anger certain people on this board--and that's worth looking at too. I couldn't recommend this piece more highly--for its language, its subject matter and its truthfulness. And for what it's worth, everyone I know who has seen it-and I do mean everyone--has discussed what a uniquely rich experience it has been. I'm thrilled it's on Broadway. | |
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| re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: | wmdmcree 05:42 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - marshvale60 05:27 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| I am happy you had a great experience, I want everyone to get excited about the theatre they are seeing and enjoy the amazing things the art form has to offer. And I'm glad M&S talks about the issues you describe, always glad to know that those conversations are valued and being offered. But I, many others on this board, and the people who attended the production with me did not find M&S to be a great play or a great evening of theatre. Just a different opinion, doesn't invalidate yours, but is no less true because it comes to different conclusions. And yes, I have lived through all of the horrors of the AIDS crisis from its beginnings in the early 80's when I was in my late twenties through today, so I am not immune to the enormous emotional connection to those times and our place in the world today. | |
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| re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: | davei2000 01:19 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - LegitOnce 11:43 am EDT 03/13/14 |
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| I wouldn't be so harsh, but I do think Mothers and Sons seems like a rewrite of Andre's Mother, which I loved, but less believable since it takes place 30 years later. I don't know why someone who has evolved so little in that time would drop by for a conversation with someone she basically abhors, although it does seem she needs an update on gay life. (And she never heard of the AIDS quilt?) Actually, I haven't seen it in too long but I remember her being softer as Sada Thompson played her on PBS... | |
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| re: "And she never heard of the AIDS quilt?" | |
| Posted by: | Dale 05:58 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - davei2000 01:19 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| It's like her line "Doesn't anyone remember "Li'l Abner" anymore?". Not when everyone else in the play is under the age of 35. | |
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| re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: | sergius 10:53 am EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - Delvino 09:06 am EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Thanks for your response. By "parochial" I meant a kind or degree of narrow-mindedness. To me, in its celebration of recent civil rights advances, including marriage equality, the play ignores important aspects and goals of what used to be called the gay liberation movement, aims that are perhaps unrelated to varieties of assimilation. Of course, it's completely fair for McNally to be disinterested in this question. It's disappointing to me, but it's not what his play is about. This said, my major complaint about the play is that it's implausible and contrived. I think it sacrifices a more challenging and rigorous dramaturgy to facile, trope-like sentiment. But I appreciate your remarks. | |
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| re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: | ryhog 11:00 am EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - sergius 10:53 am EDT 03/13/14 |
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| could you elaborate on the "important aspects and goals" you find ignored? | |
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| re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) | |
| Posted by: | ryhog 10:21 am EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: MOTHERS AND SONS Tonight (Possible Spoiler) - Delvino 09:06 am EDT 03/13/14 |
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| It seems to me there is a clash between the idea of mainstreaming and of parochial. The reference to both simultaneously would appear to reflect a crankiness with the message and the messenger, and it seems to arise from both perspectives on the explored issues. Does the play explore its subjects in a fresh way? I think so. I join you in not really understanding the "parochial" label here. First of all, a play can be parochial and still great. Many great plays could be framed as parochial if that were some criticism. It seems to me that the underlying sentiment of the mainstream/parochial mention is that, not that gays are mainstream, they need to shut the fuck up. That notion is both inaccurate in source and misguided in execution. | |
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