FAMAE

I don’t get to the movies as often as I’d like anymore.  We’ve toyed with the idea of turning our un-lived-in-living-room into a theatre.  We’d certainly get much more use out of that large space if it were a theatre.   But every so often, I do get to go to the movies, for a premiere, and that was the case a week ago.  My friend Wanda had tickets for the opening AND the pre-party for Sex and the City 2, and asked me to be her plus-1.  Like masses of women all over, I loved the TV series and I even purchased the DVD of the first movie (which I occasionally watch in my un-lived-in room), so the unexpected invite put a great big smile on my face.  

Known primarily for presenting compelling, award-winning theater, GableStage is also known for pushing the envelope at times with everything from graphic violence to full frontal nudity to treating all manner of controversial themes. So when, a while back, producing artistic director Joseph Adler started warning patrons about an upcoming production that might be too much for some of their sensibilities, one had to wonder what kind of a play this could possibly be. Now we know with the current GableStage production of Blasted by British playwright Sarah Kane, whose life ended tragically early in 1999, as if life itself were too much for her to take. But she left behind this great, if rarely produced, play which premiered in London in 1995. This is only the second American production.

“Oy Vey! My Son is Gay!!” is a romantic comedy about a Jewish mother named Shirley Hirsch (Lainie Kazan), who just wants to find her son Nelson (John Lloyd Young) a nice Jewish girl. But, Nelson is gay and hasn’t been able to come out to his parents.  Fed up with his mother’s constant matchmaking, Nelson tells his mother that he’s seeing someone. Shirley decides to investigate her son’s love interest and goes to his apartment when he’s not there. Nelson’s boyfriend Angelo Ferraro (Jai Rodriguez) answers the door claiming to be his interior decorator. Shirley also meets Sybil (Carmen Electra) the sexy centerfold who lives downstairs.  Shirley assumes, that Sybil is Nelson’s mysterious girlfriend, and can’t wait to introduce her to the rest of the family at an upcoming family wedding. But, Angelo is sick of hiding and wants Nelson to come out of the closet once and for all.  After a long and emotional argument with Angelo, Nelson agrees to bring his boyfriend to the wedding. The Hirsch family must now come to terms with Nelson’s sexuality.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I placed the screener of “The Maid” inside my DVD player. This was a film that I had never heard of or ever even seen a trailer for. It was a true independent film, not a Hollywood movie masquerading as an indie flick. “The Maid” is a Spanish language (English sub-titles) movie void of big budget actors and flashy special effects. A raw look at servitude in modern Chile.