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Mommy Queerest
I went to see Judy Gold's one-woman show, Mommy Queerest at Theatre J tonight. I was familiar with her from her appearance in the documentary Making Trouble and she is definitely a talented comedian. The show is, essentially, an autobiography from awkward childhood (banging her head, shaking her leg, and being too tall) to discovering she could make people laugh to her lesbian relationships, her sons, and her mother. 1970's sitcoms are used to provide something of a frame, with her making several attempts to pitch a sitcom ("It's Judy's Show!") of her own.
There were a lot of good one-liners throughout the show, but, alas, one-liners do not satisfying theatre make. I wanted a stronger narrative arc, something I could really say the show was about. I overheard some other people commenting that it seemed to be therapy for her, which is never a good thing for the audience. I don't think I'd go that far, but I do think that, for example, she should think about how to make her passion on the subject of gay marriage part of a story, not just a political statement. (She has a touching bit about a newspaper story about a lesbian couple marrying in Toronto after being together 30+ years, so the basic material is there. It just isn't well integrated into the rest of the show.)
There were a lot of good one-liners throughout the show, but, alas, one-liners do not satisfying theatre make. I wanted a stronger narrative arc, something I could really say the show was about. I overheard some other people commenting that it seemed to be therapy for her, which is never a good thing for the audience. I don't think I'd go that far, but I do think that, for example, she should think about how to make her passion on the subject of gay marriage part of a story, not just a political statement. (She has a touching bit about a newspaper story about a lesbian couple marrying in Toronto after being together 30+ years, so the basic material is there. It just isn't well integrated into the rest of the show.)