Stage Notes: Mother

Mother is a new play by Lisa Ebersole, directed by Andrew Grosso, which stars one of the entertainment industry’s comedy icons, Buck Henry, along with veteran Holland Taylor, who was Emmy-nominated three years running for Two & A Half Men. The playwright herself, Haskell King, and Keith Randolph Smith round out the cast of five. Henry, known for his dry humor and dead pan delivery, is more than accomplished as both a writer and actor -- he wrote the superior screenplays for The Graduate, Catch 22 and To Die For; won a Tony for his role on Broadway in Art: and capably hosted SNL 10 times. The play is set in an upscale resort in West Virginia where an eccentric family gathers for their annual New Year’s holiday. Matters of identity and sibling rivalry are raised, along with copious glasses of bubbly. I spoke with Henry after a rehearsal.

Hi Buck. Tell me about the play.
It’s written by a young female playwright with some degree of talent. She’s written a previous play called Brother. I think she should continue with Father and other family members. I suggested she keep going, all the way through Baby and Dog.

Haha. Can you tell me a little about this play?
I don’t like to talk about work, unless it’s my own. I don’t like to give an opinion of someone else’s work.

I don’t need an opinion, really; just what the play is about.
It is a dysfunctional family, comedy melodrama; father, mother, son and daughter, and a couple of peripheral parts. I play dad.

Can you give an idea of what happens?
I’ve been rehearsing scene by scene, so I can’t tell you much. But it’s set in a dining room, around the table. It all takes place in real time. It’s a long dinner time, one long act.

How about an example of something that goes on, on stage?
It’s like all family dramas. There are revelations, things that are not known become known; there are things that are guessed about, or believed, or people are wrong about. Things happen that aren’t supposed to happen. Like the plays of Pinter or Shepard; it lives in the zone where some things are not quite literal.

I understand that there is an attempted kidnapping.
A supposed kidnapping! I don’t have a lot I’m able to say about it. One of the characters is said to eat the same meal every night of his life. I wasn’t conscious of it being a New Year’s holiday party. However, it’s the only time the family can get together because they live in different places. No one gets killed or maimed.

OK, anything else?
It’s fairly traditional in its skin, but it’s pretty strong in its heart.

The Wild Project, 195 E. 3rd St., (212) 352-0255. Previews July 8, opens July 13-Aug. 1. Mon., (No show Tues.) Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m. $20.

Photos by Nat Chitwood