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.

The Country House ***

Donald Margulies’s new play at Manhattan Theatre Club could well bear the subtitle “Variations on Chekhovian Themes.” Characters and situations from “The Seagull” and “Uncle Vanya” are borrowed, tweaked and conflated to produce a clever mash-up that works more often than not. The action takes place in the Williamstown home of Anna Patterson (Blythe Danner), an acclaimed actress of a certain age who is in town to play the title role in Mrs. Warren’s Profession. For the first anniversary of her daughter Kathy’s death, she is joined by her granddaughter Susie (Sarah Steele), a senior at Yale; her daughter’s widower Walter (David Rasche), a successful Hollywood director who has his new girlfriend Nell (Kate Jennings Grant), an actress, in tow; and Anna’s unhappy son Elliot (Eric Lange), an unsuccessful actor and would-be playwright. The family are joined by a surprise guest, Michael Astor (Daniel Sunjata), a television celebrity who has come to town to play The Guardsman. As a young actor, he had appeared with Anna and had an affair with Kathy; he is still catnip to three generations of women. Eleven years ago, Nell and Elliot had acted together in Louisville, leaving Elliot smitten with unrequited love for her. All this is laid out cleverly in the first act with amusing dialogue. And then things head south. The second act seemed formulaic and the third act, which hews too slavishly to Chekhov, did not offer any sense of resolution. The play is peppered with droll observations on the state of theater and film. The cast are uniformly excellent, John Lee Beatty’s set is luscious, Rita Ryack’s costumes are appropriate and Daniel Sullivan’s direction is smooth and assured. Although the destination was a disappointment, it was an entertaining ride for most of the journey. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission