Mother of the Maid

B-

As a showcase for the talents of the marvelous Glen Close (The Real Thing, Sunset Boulevard), Jane Anderson’s (Looking for Normal, “The Wife”) play at the Public Theater is an unqualified success. Beyond that, its merits are less clear. Your reaction to it may depend on whether you think the world needs yet another play about Joan of Arc, albeit one told from the viewpoint of her mother. The Arcs, as portrayed by Anderson, are a hardworking peasant family. Jacques (Dermot Crowley; The Weir, Translations) is gruff and dislikes challenges to his authority. Isabelle (Ms. Close) is a no-nonsense mother who tries hard to meet the challenge of raising their rebellious teen-aged daughter Joan (Grace Van Patten; The Whirligig), especially when she starts having saintly visions. Joan’s brother Pierre (Andrew Hovelson; Lucky Guy, The Father) repeatedly demonstrates that he lacks his sister’s strength of character. Their priest, Father Gilbert (Daniel Pearce; Machinal, Passion Play), discounts Joan’s visions until she is embraced by the French court. A well-meaning but nameless Lady of the Court (Kate Jennings Grant; The Lyons, Noises Off) is kind to Joan and her family but is unable to avoid lapsing into patronizing mode. Her servant Monique (Olivia Gilliatt; CasablancaBox) is basically superfluous to the story. The first act contains considerable humor, occasionally resembling a family sitcom. The second act darkens and offers powerful monologues for each parent. While it is interesting to see events from a different point of view, the play offers no new insights. The device of having a character narrate, referring to oneself in the third person, seemed awkward. The actors are all fine, with Ms. Close more than fine. I only wish she had not been given makeup that made her appear almost grotesque. The set design by John Lee Beatty (Sweat, The Water Engine) is efficient and understated. Jane Greenwood’s (The Little Foxes) costumes are apt, especially the lavish gowns for Ms. Grant. The direction by Matthew Penn (The Beauty Queen of Leenane) is smooth. While I found the play a bit wobbly in its tone, I was grateful for the opportunity to see Ms. Close up close. Running time: two hours ten minutes including intermission.

An Ordinary Muslim

B-

Hammaad Chaudry is a lucky man. His thesis advisor for his MFA at Columbia in 2014 was none other than Tony Kushner, who has helped steer his play through drastic revision and expansion— from 70 minutes to 2 1/2 hours - culminating in this production at New York Theatre Workshop. The focus of the play is the Bhatti family of West London in 2011. The father, Akeel (Ranjit Chowdhry), born in India but relocated to Pakistan after the partition, emigrated to England about 40 years ago and has worked his way into the middle class. His emotionally distant wife Malika (Rita Wolf; Homebody/Kabul) is recovering from a heart attack. The lead character is their assimilated son Azeem (Sanjit De Silva; Dry Powder), who works at a bank where he hopes to become branch manager. His wife Saima (Purva Bedi; East Is East), more religious than Azeem, has influenced him to give up alcohol and behave more devoutly. Saima is considering wearing a hijab to work, but Azeem is against the idea. Azeem’s older sister Javeria (Angel Desai) is making a rare visit from Manchester where she lives with her husband and two small children. Imran Jameel (Harsh Nayyar) is the leader of a revivalist Muslim group and his son Hamza (Sathya Sridharan; This Is How It Ends) runs the mosque where Saima is a volunteer. Imran and Akeel had a falling out many years before. The only non-Muslim character is Azeem’s longtime “real” British friend David (Andrew Hovelson; The Father), who also works at the bank. The playwright succeeds in capturing the difficulties of living in a society where one never feels welcome. He certainly does not idealize the Bhattis. Abuse, both physical and emotional, has been part of their family life. The parents and, to a large extent, the son are far from sympathetic, which posed a problem for me. The subplots about persuading first Akeel, then Saima, to attend religious retreats were confusing. I found the play was generally overstuffed and would be curious to see the 70-minute version. I was surprised to learn that no-one in the strong cast is a Muslim. Neil Patel’s (Time and the Conways) scenic design and Susan Hilferty's (Wicked, Present Laughter) costumes serve the play well. Jo Bonney (By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; Father Comes Home from the Wars) directs with her usual sure hand. Running time: 2 1/2 hours including intermission.