Timely, touching Mothers and Sons in Tulsa and Rogers

Mothers and Sons, a timely and touching new play that explores our evolving understanding of what it means to be a family, opens at American Theatre Company in Tulsa May 13-21. A separate production of the play, by Arkansas Public Theatre, will be at the Victory Theatre in Rogers, AR, May 6-8 and 12-15.

Funny, provocative, and poignant, this acclaimed drama by playwright Terrence McNally, follows Dallas matriarch Katharine Gerard on an unexpected visit to New York to meet with her late son’s former partner, who is now married to another man and raising a young son.

Forced to consider the life her own son might have led, Katharine must now come to terms with her own life choices and how society has changed around her. The play takes place at the height of the AIDS epidemic. McNally, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, said, "Many was the time 25 years ago that I had to call a mother and father and tell them not only that their son had died from AIDS, but that he was gay.

“That was the kind of denial we all were living in back then. That was the level of secrecy and shame that caused so many families to become strangers to their children, to end up knowing less about their own son than his friends. This has been the whole relationship of America to minority groups. We just put them in the drawer and hoped they would go away."

The New York Observer called Mothers and Sons, “A masterpiece. Terrence McNally is one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theatre world has produced. Mothers and Sons is profound. Heartbreaking. Triumphant.”

The New York Times praised McNally, saying, “Terrence McNally is a probing and enduring dramatist. A resonant elegy for a ravaged generation. Mothers and Sons wears its significance defiantly.” The play was nominated for the Tony Award Best Play in 2014.

The Arkansas Public Theatre production opens at the Victory Theater in Rogers Friday, May 6. Performances are May 6-7 and 12-14 at 8 p.m., and May 8 and 15 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $17 for theatre seating, and $30 per person for Cabaret table seating (two persons per table), and may be purchased online at www.arkansaspublictheatre.org or by phone at (479) 631-8988.

Tulsa’s American Theatre Company (ATC) production of Mothers and Sons opens Friday, May 13 and runs through the 21st at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Williams Theatre. Lisa Wilson as Katherine leads the American Theatre Company (ATC) production of Mothers and Sons. A cast of seasoned Tulsa actors and ATC company members includes Sterling McHan as Cal, Chad Oliverson as Will; Norah Sweeney directs.

Tickets for the ATC production are $16 to $26 and may be purchased at MyTicketOffice.com or by calling (918) 596-7111. Evening performances are at 8 p.m. with a matinee curtain time of 2 p.m.

The Gayly – May 2, 2016 @ 2:30 p.m.