TDF Stages

The Company Tony winner and the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star discuss their new two-hander Conversations with Mother

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Theatre is full of monstrous mothers—they're absent or abusive, addicts or critics, egotists or opportunists, sometimes all of the above. But Maria, the Italian-Catholic matriarch in Matthew Lombardo's new two-character comedy Conversations with Mother at Theater 555, exudes nothing but love (with a side of nagging) for her gay son Bobby. When a priest essentially tells an eight-year-old Bobby that he'll end up in hell for being homosexual, Maria makes it clear that the pastor's the one with the problem, not her child.

Lombardo, whose previous plays include the Katharine Hepburn bio-show Tea at Five, the Dr. Seuss parody Who's Holiday! and the Broadway drama High, based Conversations with Mother on his real-life relationship with his mom over the past half century. As Maria and Bobby, Caroline Aaron and Matt Doyle are equally hilarious and heartwarming. While Doyle is best known for his musical theatre work, notably winning a Tony Award for his riotous performance as a husband-to-be with cold feet in the gender-swapped Company, and Aaron is a busy character actress on TV, both performers signed on to Conversations with Mother quickly because they were so taken with the script. TDF Stages spoke with the amusing duo about their own families, their favorite show moments and why it's so important to find the funny right now.

Raven Snook: How did you each get involved in Conversations with Mother?

Caroline Aaron: I was offered the play a number of months ago and, as usual, my agents went: "No! Don't do a play!" They say that for financial reasons, and it's a long commitment. At the time, I didn't know who my son would be, so Matt and I are mail-order brides for each other. I said yes because I loved the piece. I am a daughter, and I am a mother. It really touched my heart, and I got Matt in the bargain.

Matt Doyle: I had a similar journey. I got an offer out of the blue. I was up in Maine working on a show, and I read the script and within the first 10 pages I was like, oh, I think I'm gonna do this one. Caroline and I had never met, so I hoped there would be chemistry. On day one, we looked at each other and were like, oh, thank god!

Aaron: What's odd is my son called me before I got the offer and said, "Mom, somebody I played basketball with in college, a friend of his is going to offer you a play!" I was like, "Finally, you've gotten me a job!" Turns out one of my son's schoolmates is really close to the playwright, Matthew Lombardo, and when he was talking about offering the play to me, the friend went, "Oh, I played basketball with her son." Isn't that so funny? I didn't know any of Matthew's plays at all, so I'm really excited to get to know his writing.

Snook: You both signed on to the project quickly. What about the script convinced you?

Doyle: I just was so thrilled that it was a piece specifically about the bond between a mother and her gay son. It's a very unique experience, one that's really, really special. Everyone can obviously relate to this play; everyone can tap into the relationship with their own mother through these characters. But I really saw a lot of myself and my relationship with my own mother in Bobby, and I wanted to be able to celebrate my mom in this piece. My mom came to our first preview and she loved it so much. Her picture is up on the wall when you first walk in. She was able to see that picture, which was a surprise to her, and she was really moved by it. She was nervous the whole time because I kept on telling her that this was essentially about us. And she was like, "Oh, man, I better like this mother!" I said, "Mom, you're gonna love the mother. The mother is the hero of the story." And so she came, and she was like, "All right, I approve."

Aaron: And I got to meet her! You know, I always had this joke when my son was growing up. I would say to him, "I wish you were gay, but you're just not evolved enough. That'll have to be in your next lifetime!" When it was announced that I was doing this, I got an email from a friend that said, "Finally, your dream has come true!"

Snook: The show is full of funny and moving scenes, often both at once. What are your favorite moments to play? There are some hilarious jokes about meat and poultry, but I don't want to spoil them.

Aaron: Yes, those are highlights. I love the line when I tell Bobby: "You are my business. Everything about you is my business."

Doyle: For me, the whole part about searching for something and never being satisfied… that really hit home for me. It's a lecture I've gotten from my own mother. I actually had to warn her about it. I was like, "You're gonna think that I told the writer to put that in because it sounds so much like something you said to me. I promise, I didn't have anything to do with it!" She saw the show and was like, "What did you tell him?!" But I didn't. I think it's such a good reminder for all of us—especially artists who are constantly searching for something that's going to validate and satisfy us—that it's really about looking inward and validating yourself.

Snook: I really appreciated that this play isn't another coming-out story with a homophobic mom learning to love her gay son. Even though Maria is a devout Catholic, she accepts Bobby entirely and unconditionally from the get-go. She wishes he would make better life choices, but she never wishes for him to be straight.

Aaron: I'm so glad you picked up on that. In the very first scene, when he says that he's basically been excommunicated by a priest, she takes the side of her son. The church is more important to her than anything except her son. That's why she says he's a bad priest and a stupid man. That's pretty brave for somebody like her, whose whole life centers around the rules and regulations of being devout, except when it comes to her boy.

Snook: Another thing that struck me: Maria ends up fighting cancer. Caroline, I know your sister, Josephine Abady, a celebrated theatre director and producer, died of breast cancer in 2002. Those scenes must be particularly challenging to play.

Aaron: It's very hard. I've been through this journey, not personally but with my sister. I was by her bedside, and it was just brutal. It takes an enormous amount of courage to endure it. I think Maria is very courageous. She is not a victim—yes, she calls Bobby late at night, she's widowed and lonesome, but when he asks, "Do you want me to come home?" She says, "Don't you dare. Be the playwright you want to be." I think that's a pretty heroic mother.

Snook: Mathew Lombardo's plays have been on Broadway and beyond, but some haven't received the kindest reviews. I love that he wrote in jokes about that in Conversations with Mother.

Doyle: The self-awareness of the piece is really lovely. He's owning up to a lot of things. It is certainly inspired by many events in his life. He's been through a great deal in terms of addiction and coming back stronger. I think that's why it's such a captivating piece. It comes from his heart.

Aaron: And his mom is alive. She's 98 and she's coming to see the play! Not on opening night, that would be a little too much hubbub for her. But he is going to bring her, and I'm so, so excited.

Snook: That's amazing! So, you guys haven't met her yet?

Aaron: No, but Matthew says they really talk three times a day. They're so close.

Snook: Making audiences laugh is always a gift, but it seems particularly urgent right now considering all that's going on, particularly the federal government's attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. When the words "transgender" and "queer" are being removed from the Stonewall National Monument website, how does it feel to be doing a comedy about the relationship between a mother and her gay son?

Aaron: It feels important. I wondered after the last election, where will the appetite for entertainment go? Will we just want escapism? Or will we want to be challenged by political material? I feel this play covers all the bases, it's wildly funny, but it's also universal, because it's about family and tolerance. I hope people will come see it with an open heart.

Doyle: I came into this project thinking it would just be escapism. I didn't realize how moving it would be until we got it on its feet. I think the reason it's so important right now is because it's not about a mother's struggle to accept her gay son. I'm just gay and she's just my mom. Conversations with Mother is a beautiful reminder that we need to be connecting with one another and reaching out to one another. All we have, especially in the darkest moments, is each other. I'm so, so grateful for my family right now. That's what's going to get us through.

Snook: In addition to the show, you are both busy with other projects. Caroline, you have a recurring role on the CBS sitcom Ghosts, and Matt, you've been playing legendary crooner Frank Sinatra in Sinatra The Musical, which had a run in London and is aiming for Broadway. Anything you can share about those ventures?

Aaron: It's very interesting that you mention Ghosts since it's all about diversity. Young, old, fat, thin, Black, white, everybody together. Maybe that's where we figure it all out together: in the hereafter.

Doyle: I think we're hoping for next season for Sinatra The Musical. The producers have a few specific houses in mind, so we're ready and waiting. But that also means you're hoping for another show to close. I just try to breathe and make sure I am supporting everyone as they're having their great Broadway runs. When it happens, it will be right, we don't want to rush it.

Snook: It will be great to see you in a musical again—you won a Tony Award for your hysterical performance as Jamie in Stephen Sondheim's Company for a reason!

Doyle: I actually didn't go to school for musical theatre! I love musical theatre, don't get me wrong. It's treated me very, very well. But I went to school for classical theatre. I thought I was going to come back to the States and do a lot of Shakespeare. So getting a play offer, I was like, oh, thank god I don't have to sing for one moment! It's really nice to be able to stretch these muscles, especially with a role where I start when I'm eight years old and end when I'm 65. It's been a real thrill to bite into it.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for Conversations with Mother. Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.