Rudy Galvan and Jordan Baker – Photo Credit Andrea Phox
Relationships within families vary in scope and importance. But the influence that parents have on their children provide some of the most crucial ones. A new play running at New Jersey Repertory Company examines that issue in a show called Comfort. Written by Neil LaBute, the play focuses on the relationship between a mother and a son. In the process of examining that relationship, other issues arise including whether everyone should be a parent or not.
Evan Bergman directs Comfort highlighting critical elements of the story needed to understand disputes that have come between a mother and her son. This intriguing story line is well developed by two actors who give very fine performances. Jordan Baker plays Iris, a mother and successful book writer. Rudy Galvan plays the role of her son, Cal, a man who has some aspirations to also be a writer but isn’t moving too well with his life.
Beginnings
As you enter the comfortable lobby of the NJ Rep, looks at the walls displaying book covers hanging up with the authors’ names highlighted. Each of covers is from a book written by a female author.
photo by K. Nowosad
photo by K. Nowosad
You can use the gold stickers to indicate any of the books you have read. Take time to note which ones have the largest amount of stickers on them.
There is a nice significance to the lobby display of female authors because Iris in the play is a successful writer, author of many well received books, and a Pulitzer Prize winner. Her success as a writer appears to be the source of many of the problems between her and Cal.
When the play starts, the set is made up of a living room that leads into a small kitchen. A man tries to enter through a sliding door but doesn’t have a key. So he knows to go to a window to let himself in. He takes his time looking around and finally opens a wooden cabinet and removes several journal style booklets. He places them in a bag he brought with him.
Mother and Son Greet Each Other
The play allows the audience a few moments to wonder if this is a break in. However, that issue is quickly resolved with Iris enters and is startled at first to see someone in her home. But then, she realizes it is Cal, her son. Their reunion is not the warmest one might expect when a mother and son greet each other after a sizable amount of time away from each other. But it does warm up a bit as Iris makes Cal a sandwich and invites him to stay the night.
Eventually, the fragments of their broken relationship become more apparent when Iris asks Cal what he has taken from the cabinet He says that he has photo albums and is looking for one in particular.
Well written and well performed dialog allow the audience to feel the depth of the disputes between the two. For example, one of the major sources of contention for Cal is that with her success as a writer, Iris was not a very good mother. His resentment of how she had to go on the road to promote her writing and leave her family behind outs itself. This results in more ugliness as Iris confesses to her son: “I’m a writer. That’s what I was meant to be, not a mother.” Her winning a Pulitzer Prize for her writing appears to strengthen Iris’ resolve to be true to how she lived her life. She doesn’t feel that Cal respects her writing.
And yet, as she prepares to sleep on the couch, she takes Cal’s hoodie with her and cries into it. This very poignant moment brings a sense that she has misgivings about missing out on time she could have spent with her family. Here, the cultural issue of a woman giving up parts of her life to live out her career carefully opens up for inspection. Perhaps she wanted more and could not do it all.
More Issues Come Out
Cal also carries a sadness that his father loved Iris but they still divorced. He manages to talk with Iris about things his father told him that appear to weigh heavily on him. But neither mother or son seem to want to repent on their own strong feelings.
As issues surface, long time sadness appears. With the careful construction of meaningful dialog, verbal exchanges take place between Iris and Cal. The layers of hurt unfold gradually. It is heartbreaking to hear how hurt Iris was at the child custody hearing when Cal chose to live with his father. Likewise, Cal also has to reconcile that his mother was more involved with her career than him.
As they both retire for the night, Cal picks up a book that Iris had told him about which is the basis of her newest project. This book gives rise to the name of the play, Comfort, and is a part of a mystery of facts that Iris is working on. Eventually, Cal discloses the nature of the picture he was seeking and why. It is a startling moment in the play and one that appears to be pivotal in Cal’s life. For Iris, this is too much to bear quietly and verbal exchanges between the two ensue.
Comfort is an Intense Drama
Cal’s claims is that the photo he has taken validates that Iris was not the sole writer of her first book, The Iron String. Cal feels that his decreased father contributed to the writing of the book. For Iris, this is too much to bear quietly and verbal exchanges between the two ensue.
Comfort provides audiences with some intense drama as it raises questions not just about family issues but also about cultural ones. The strength of the dialog allows questions about a mother’s role in the life of her child to surface. How critical is the amount of time a mother spends with her son is also brought out. What influence does a career that mother might have influence her child’s choices along the way.
None of these are easy to answer but seeing Comfort can provide a thought-provoking forum.
To See Comfort
Enjoy the opportunity to see a two person show with solid substance, a well written script, and one that has superb acting throughout the show.
Comfort runs now through May 11, 2025 at New Jersey Repertory Company. The theater is conveniently located at 179 Broadway, Long Branch, New Jersey. Free parking is available in a lot right near the entrance to the venue.
For tickets and more information, visit NJ Rep’s website or call the NJRep Box Office at (732) 229-3166.
Runtime of this show is 2 hours, 25 minutes including one intermission.
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