Paul Rudnick's 2007 play is made up of vignettes, primarily featuring monologues by its main characters who all have one thing in common -- they are, or have been affected by, someone gay. This set-up could potentially present as a virtual pride parade of stereotypical characters. Well, it kinda does. In between the ready-made laughs, and there are many, you can spot moments of introspection from certain characters, but those delicate strokes are often layered over with the script's heavier-handed brush strokes of over-the-top clichés.
The festivities begin with Helene Nadler (Stellie Siteman), self-proclaimed "most loving mother of all time". Why? Well, she's got a lesbian daughter, actually two, except one is transgender. Then there's her son David, also gay, with fetishes for leather and scatology <-- don't ask. That's why I made it a link. In a presentation she's giving to the “Parents of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, the Transgendered, the Questioning, the Curious, the Creatively Concerned and Others” group, she fiercely defends her love for her children, but you can tell that despite her claims of being the most accepting mother in the world, she's really trying to convince herself that her children are truly okay. Stellie Siteman plays up Helene's enthusiasm, but the over-long narrative loses steam near the end. It also gets a little bizarre as she trots out her son, fully clad in leather, to show how submissive and obedient he is. Whaa?
