Theater J Tunes In For Mommy Queerest
Mommy Queerest is comedian Judy Gold’s one-woman, show-length pitch for her own TV series, complete with piano playing, slides and character voices. But if you’re not someone already interested in the life of a remarkably tall Jewish lesbian mom, chances are this bumpy production won't win you over.
Gold’s life from childhood to present is meant to be smoothly stitched together by TV show asides, with high school, college and even parenthood explained in terms of the sitcom living situations Judy expected to encounter. We follow Judy through her head-banging infancy to her devastating high school years, and on to the formation of the 20-year relationship that begat two sons, all while being guided by Welcome Back Kotter's theme song and promo stills for Family Ties. Judy’s material focuses primarily on her mother and the pains of rejection by peers and managers because of her height. Only occasionally does she acknowledge common thoughts about lesbian births (“you get to take turns”) or roles within gay relationships (“who’s the man?” Judy’s response: “There is no man. That’s the point.”)
While the VH1-style survey of TVland was surely instant heaven for some, if the audience wasn’t sitcom-savvy enough to indulge in similar pop-culture nostalgia, some references fell entirely flat. And the interludes at the piano were disjointed rather than unifying. Gold herself was flustered enough to ask at one point “Can I start over? I’m so nervous” to which Artistic Director Ari Roth replied from the sound booth, “Sure.” But Gold opted to only tack on a bit about her sons peeing in the sink as a result of their single-bathroom living situation before moving forward.
Some jokes are hilarious, as when Judy’s mother asks of Judy’s childhood gentile friends, “would they hide you?” but most punch lines are worn and lack conviction. So Judy’s mother always screams and “Schwendy” (Judy’s former partner) talks like a valley girl, but are these traits fundamentally amusing enough to entertain an audience? Gold relies heavily on laughter by way of annoyance in her renditions of TV jingles as well. She’s got a good voice, but chooses to make climactic lines like “You’re gonna make it after all” grating rather than sincere — which is a shame, because Mommy Queerest (like most influential sitcoms) comes to life in the moments when Judy allows herself to be earnest.
The most memorable scenes involve Gold speaking frankly about a missed opportunity to come out to her dad or pouring forth an impassioned plea about the indefensibility of denying gays marriage rights. There are few situations that are not improved by humor, but perhaps the (perpetually-repeated) circumstance of being a “6’3’’ Jewish lesbian mom of two” has lost a little of its wacky factor and deserves more honest attention. Even as Judy insists to invisible studio execs that the day-to-day details of her home life are hysterical enough to warrant a half-hour show, she keeps most of those details from her audience.
Mommy Queerest runs through Jan. 3 at Theater J. Tickets are available online.