Review: Don’t miss ‘Sins of the Mother’

GLOUCESTER – If you love good theater it’s a sin not to see Israel Horovitz’s new play "The Sins of the Mother" at the Gloucester Stage Company this month.Is it the funniest angry play you’ll see all year, or the angriest funny play you’ll see all year? The packed house that saw the play Sunday afternoon may not have been sure but they applauded at the end of every act and brought the cast back on stage for an extra curtain call, along with the author.This year there’s something special about Horovitz’s annual play presentation at the GSC. The playwright who has written more than 70 plays is celebrating his 70th birthday this year and in his honor 70 theater companies worldwide are staging or reading one of his plays – "The 70/70 Horovitz Project."The play is based on a 45-minute one-act play Horovitz wrote in 2003, exploring the way people live with the effects of heterosexual AIDS, but when it was read and critiqued in New York the critics felt disappointed. The solution was to add another two acts and 45 minutes, taking the story to a new level of meaning. There is a casket on-stage in Acts 2 and 3 and some very funny lines about forgiveness.Robert Walsh carries the play with his serious, methodical portrayal of Bobby, a character whose subtext belies his boring exterior. As the senior character in the play he takes the lead early as he tries to determine which Shimmatarro family in Gloucester Douggie Shimmatarro is related to and never lets up.Gloucester Stage newcomer Christopher Whalen plays a dual role: identical twins Frankie and Philly, who have very different attitudes toward life and their father. Drafted into the roles a week before rehearsals started, Whalen has found the angry heart of Frankie and reaches for the cold, manipulative mind of Philly.Francisco Solaranzo makes Douggie the nice stranger who finds himself drawn inevitably to an act of vengeance – and Seattle resident David Nail nails Dubbah Morrison, Gloucester accent and all.Horovitz may be the one having the birthday, but this play is a present to theater lovers"The Sins of the Mother" will run through Sept. 13 at the Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main St. Performances are at 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday, with a Saturday matinee at 3 p.m. Ticket prices are $37 for adults and $32 for seniors and students. Reservations and further information are available at 978-281-4433 or www.gloucesterstage.org.