A playwright making his Broadway debut is given the GLAAD media award that recognizes and honors media for “Fair, accurate and inclusive representation of the LGBTQ community and the issues that afffects its members.” I suspect that Hunter’s play is semi-autobiographical.
This drama was written for comedic actress Laurie Metcalf. You’d know Laurie from the T.V. comedy “Roseanne” or the movie “Lady Bird” (Saoirse Ronan) in which she played Lady Bird’s mother. It was released in 2017. Or you may have seen her as I did in Edward Albee’s play “Three Tall Women (2018) directed by Joe Mantello who has won Obie awards for directing on and off Broadway and Tonys for his acting.
First conceived in the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, Laura Metcalf and Mantello have joined forces again in a drama that’s dark, but funny with zingers by Metcalf. It takes place in the rural outskirts of Troy, Idaho from 2020-22 during Covid. The setting of the play is a gray couch, a white rug, and an overhead ceiling fan.
Summary: Ethan, a gay, broke, blocked writer has returned home to obtain the deed of his deceased father’s house so he sell it and its belongings. Because Ethan’s father was on drugs for years and his mother fled the family, Ethan does not feel kindly towards his Aunt Sarah who he thinks could have saved him.
Ethan’s father called him a “faggot.” No one protected Ethan from the school bullies.
In the beginning, Sarah and Ethan dance around issues. Ethan tells Sarah that he tried to hide his sexual orientation from Sarah because he thought she was religious. Sarah replies: “All this time you’ve thought I had an issue with you being gay. That’s the most interesting thing about you!”
Sarah and Ethan gradually warm up to each other; they bond over watching soap operas and a show about “Extraterrestrials.” When Ethan sees copious medical bills in the kitchen for Sarah, a nurse, he realizes she has cancer and is hiding the insidious disease.
He tries to help by calling her insurance company and is given “the run around.” Exasperated, he screams ” I hate America!”
Even with an incurable disease, Sarah is able to retort “not as much as America hates you!” (The audience clapped at that remark!).
Ethan has “melt downs” on the sofa. His new boyfriend (actor John Drea making his Broadway debut) who is an astro-physicist wants him to move with him to Chicago where he will get a Ph.D. However, he is from a wealthy family and is supported by them. The privilege echoes Ethan’s last relationship in Seattle with a “cokehead” corporation lawyer from a rich family. Ethan doesn’t want to be supported by a “sugar daddy.”
In the end, the gray couch turns into a hospital bed for Sarah who wants Ethan to leave for his own sake. Abstractly, the play is about the power of forgiveness and the need for connection.
The play closes mid-February. If you’d rather witness good “acting chops,” and current issues than watch another tap dance, this is for you as it was for me!
When Your Child Is Gay: What You Need To Know
For more detailed advice, see book, co-authored with a mother of a gay son and a psychiatrist, Jonathan L. Tobkes, M.D.
