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Written by Harry Cherkinian, Contributing writer
Mar 25, 2010
Mark Bucher recalls the day during a rehearsal that a future playwright – and future friend – came calling to his storefront theater on South Kinnickinnic Avenue in Bay View.
“She knocked on my door and was looking for some gigs,” Bucher says. “Patricia Durante is a gay-friendly actor who found it frustrating trying to find work as an actress and had some ideas for plays.”
One of those ideas ended up being “It’s Your Mother!”co-written with Betsy Tuxill, Durante’s former teacher.
The play has its Midwest premiere March 31 at Boulevard Ensemble Studio Theatre and runs through May 9.
Bucher, who himself is out, quickly developed a friendship with Durante while she lived in Milwaukee (she now makes her home in New Jersey with her husband and son). While in Milwaukee, Durante performed locally with such companies as the Skylight Opera Theater, First Stage Children’s Theater and Boulevard.
“It’s Your Mother!” was based on a long voicemail message the two authors received from Tuxill’s mother when they were roommates.
The script developed over the course of 20 years and was one of a dozen plays chosen out of 1,000 submitted for a playwriting competition.
During the selection process, The Manhattan Repertory Theatre noticed the work and staged its New York premiere in July 2009.
The play includes 10 vignettes. Bucher, who is directing, has expanded the cast to use a larger number of actors than the original, including both experienced performers and beginners. That’s always been a part of Boulevard’s mission.
“Patricia and Betsy wanted to specifically create a project that engenders opportunities for women,” Bucher says. “The play was originally written for up to 16 actors. I’m using a wide swath of actresses in this show.”
That swath includes one male actor, Boulevard veteran Michael Tyburski, as well as out actress Marion Araujo.
“(The play) really explores the dynamic between mothers and daughters,” Bucher says. “Some scenes are comedic and some are touching without being maudlin.”
“It’s Your Mother!” was created to hold up a mirror to the audience’s experiences, maternal and otherwise, Bucher says, and to rediscover – and cherish – the joys of those relationships.
“I hope what I take to be the playwrights’ message is that it just isn’t about mothers,” he says. “It’s about holding your parents in regard, appreciating the family while you have them.”
