Review Fix chats with playwright and performer Monica Bauer, who discusses “Made for Each Other,†one of her two upcoming productions at Stage Left Studios in Manhattan, set for an eight-week engagement beginning February 7. Breaking down her creative process behind the production as well as experience with the cast and director, Bauer shares the moments that led to the birth of the piece and why she believes it’s a must-see.
Review Fix: How would you describe this production to someone who walked by the theatre and was interested?
Monica Bauer: “Made for Each Other†is on the surface, a play about gay marriage. But it’s really a play about love and the power of memory, and what family can do for you, and do to you. Vincent’s in his 50’s, and still hasn’t found “the one to keep.†Jerry proposes to him, after the third date, on the phone. It’s funny and sad and romantic, on the way to whether or not they’ll say “I do.â€
Review Fix: What is this production’s most endearing quality? Why?
Bauer: Both Jerry and Vincent are guided by voices from their past, in their subconscious, and these voices come from two people the audience gets to meet: Jerry’s long-dead Italian immigrant Grandpa Damiano, and Vincent’s mother, slowly dying of Alzheimer’s, but in her son’s brain, still full of vigor and advice. Jerry’s relationship with his Grandpa D is unexpected and touching. Vincent’s relationship with his mother is complicated, and filled with mixed emotions. Seeing all four of them brought to life by one actor is a theatrical treat, and the way the stories intertwine makes for high comedy and tragedy in the same evening. Everybody cries, and everybody laughs, before it’s all over.
Review Fix: Who’s the target audience for this production? Why?
Bauer: It’s a play with gay men getting married, so everywhere we go the LGBT community has been supportive. We have a special relationship with the gay community, and also a special relationship with folks with Alzheimer’s in the family. Without giving too much away, Alzheimer’s is an important part of this story. I wrote it when my mother in law was suffering from Alzheimer’s, and we have fans in the community of care givers and family members touched by this. That said, anybody who’s ever been in love can find something to love in Made for Each Other.
Review Fix: What makes John Fico special as a performer?
Bauer: John Fico is, in my opinion, the best character actor in New York. But the minute I saw him perform with the Bats at the Flea Theater in 2008, I knew he could carry a play all on his own. He has a light inside him that makes audiences fall in love with him! So after making sure he was cast in several of my plays, I decided I’d write a solo show for him. John was willing to share some of his family stories with me, and although everything has been fictionalized, I used bits and pieces from his own life to make the play, particularly Grandpa Damiano. Because I knew what he could do, I was inspired to take these characters as far as they could go, which is pretty far, including a song and tap dance routine for Mother about Alzheimer’s that routinely stops the show!
Review Fix: What was your relationship like with the production’s director, John FitzGibbon?
Bauer: I was introduced to Fitz by a playwright pal of mine, who recommended him highly. I first asked him to direct a staged reading of one of my big full length plays, in 2008. When I got the opportunity to put Made for Each Other on its feet for the first time, in the 2009 One Man Talking Festival at EAT, I needed a director, and Fitz was my first choice. John FitzGibbon’s an actor’s actor, and one of the most intelligent and well-read people I know. As a director of new work, he respects the text. He’s been with the show every step of the way; he even came to the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe with us and ran our tech! He and John Fico have developed a special bond, and the three of us do feel as if we were all made for each other.
Review Fix: Why should someone check out this production?
Bauer: If you want to laugh and cry and learn something about love, whether that is love between two men or love between mothers and sons, or grandparents and grandchildren, you’ll want to see this. One great actor on a bare stage in the intimate Stage Left Studio, a theatrical magic act you can see, up close and personal.
Review Fix: How do you want this play to be remembered in terms of your legacy as a playwright?
Bauer: It’s a pretty tall order to write a solo show for one actor playing four parts on a bare stage, and make it work. But it only works insofar as people are moved emotionally by the journey. If anybody remembers this play, it will be because it made them feel something big and deep and wide about love.
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