Northlight's 'Mothers and Sons' reflects on gay gains, losses

A dignified, chilly frown appears to be the default expression for recently widowed Dallas matron Katharine Gerard in “Mothers and Sons,” Terrence McNally's 2014 Broadway drama now making a solid regional debut at Skokie's Northlight Theatre. Yet it's more likely that Katharine is struggling to keep in check any signs of an internal well of anger, regret, disapproval and jealousy from showing on her face.

Katharine's frosty behavior serves as a defense during her unannounced visit to the plush New York apartment of money manager Cal Porter. He's the surviving boyfriend of Andre, her estranged gay son who died from AIDS-related complications in the 1990s.

So begins McNally's “Mothers and Sons,” which is essentially a sequel to his 1990 Emmy Award-winning PBS-TV film “Andre's Mother.” The earlier work featured Cal and Katharine meeting up for Andre's memorial service in Central Park, while “Mothers and Sons” explores the different ways the two subsequently handled their grief and moved on (or didn't).

Cindy Gold embodies the embittered Katharine with a subtly calibrated performance. All of her initial restraint and curt responses are emblematic of a woman trying to maintain her composure while being uncomfortably out of her element. And though she would be loathe to admit it, Katharine is also being forced to confront how out of step her views are with the times she's living in.

Cal, played with plenty of affability and sly wit by Jeff Parker, does his part to try to make Katharine as comfortable as possible as he updates her about all the positive changes in his life. Yet both are deeply unnerved by this sudden and strained reunion after more than two decades.

Katharine's arrival prods Cal to reflect on the unexpected way his life has changed since Andre's death. Cal not only shares a swanky home with his younger writer husband, Will Ogden (a strapping Benjamin Sprunger), they're also raising a son named Bud (an appropriately precocious Ben Miller). It's a family dynamic that Cal admits he never would have dreamed about as a young man.

Cal doesn't share his good fortune to hurt Katharine, but it serves as a stinging rebuke to Katharine and her traditional views that poisoned her relationship with Andre during his brief lifetime. She reluctantly acknowledges that Cal is the main surviving connection to her son, yet she's unnerved by how happy his life has turned out since it might have been one shared with Andre.

Gold and Parker offer up nuanced performances, and Sprunger gets across the confidence of a younger generation of gay men who aren't afraid to call out homophobia when they experience it.

In part, “Mothers and Sons” functions as a state-of-the-nation rumination on the sociological and political changes in America with regards to gay rights and marriage equality. And the play takes time out to mourn those who didn't survive the early scourge of AIDS.

The play ties into McNally's long writing career that frequently chronicled aspects of gay men and their families of friends and relations. Yet McNally's dramatic construction of “Mothers and Sons” isn't as satisfying as his previous works including “A Perfect Ganesh,” “Love! Valour! Compassion!” or “The Lisbon Traviata.”

The clunky transitions between monologues toward the end are problematic, while the dramatic devices deployed to keep certain characters offstage for long stretches are glaringly obvious. There are also exchanges in the script that are so heated and cutting that you question why some characters don't storm off when they've been so cruelly insulted.

Despite these patchy script issues, director Steve Scott oversees a strongly acted production that ultimately underlines many of the play's important points. Scott and his ensemble keep you guessing whether a reconciliation will be in the cards.

“Mothers and Sons” is worthwhile as a snapshot of the enormous societal shifts in America with regard to acceptance for those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Yet it also insightfully pauses to consider those who couldn't — or wouldn't — get aboard that advancing pride parade float pushing for equal rights.

“Mothers and Sons”

★ ★ ★

<b>Location:</b> Northlight Theatre at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, (847) 673-6300, <a href="http://northlight.org">northlight.org</a>

<b>Showtimes:</b> 1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (no matinee Feb. 10), 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday (no evening shows Feb. 7 or 21); runs through Feb. 27

<b>Running time:</b> 90 minutes with no intermission

<b>Tickets:</b> $25-$79

<b>Parking:</b> Adjacent free garage and a nearby parking lot

<b>Rating:</b> For teens and older because of strong language