Paula Vogel's THE MOTHER PLAY: A PLAY IN FIVE EVICTIONS Reminds Us to Look Back as We Move Forward - Washingtonian

"In the mid-1960s to 1970s, the fight for civil rights and the era of "Free Love" contributed to the birth of an active, vibrant Gay and Lesbian community in the nation's capital. Like New York and Los Angeles, DC became a place for people to establish a truer version of themselves in nightclubs, lounges, and house parties as well as community-specific sports leagues, communal housing, and bookstores."

"Paula Vogel's DMV based play, The Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions, centers on siblings Carl and Martha and their matriarch, Phyllis, a glamorous, demanding woman who descends into alcoholism. Throughout the play, the siblings reach out for their mother; as William Makepeace Thackeray put it, "Mother is God in the eyes of a child." Even as they are coming to understand and accept their own identities,"

"Phyllis starts to come around to the idea of accepting Carl when Martha offers to bring her to a Navy Yard-based Gay nightclub, Lost and Found (a name longstanding DC residents may recognize), to offer her a positive understanding of his life and community. The meeting goes awry once Phyllis learns that Martha is also Gay, an event which brings the siblings even closer together."

The mid-1960s through the 1970s saw civil rights struggles and the Free Love era spur an active Gay and Lesbian community in Washington, DC. Nightclubs, lounges, house parties, sports leagues, communal housing, and bookstores enabled people to live more authentic lives, with organizations like PFLAG offering support and sanctuary. The Mother Play centers on siblings Carl and Martha and their mother Phyllis, whose alcoholism and homophobia produce conflict when Carl comes out. Martha brings Phyllis to PFLAG and to a Navy Yard nightclub to foster understanding; Phyllis's resistance ends when she discovers Martha is also Gay, which ultimately draws the siblings closer. The 1980s–1990s HIV/AIDS epidemic devastated the community and led to the closure of many gathering places.

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