A uniquely entertaining celebration is coming up at Club Café on Monday, October 15, with the debut of “Momma’s Boys,” a multimedia cabaret installation exploring the special and complex bond between gay sons and their mothers.
The show features videos and a multitude of artists across the spectrum: theater, opera, musical theater, drag, and cabaret—with on-stage performances by local musicians, singers and actors including Brian Clague, Lucas Coura, Elbert Joseph, John La Bella, Rick Miller, John O’Neil, Brian Patton, Jim Rice, Adam Sutton, Verna Turbulence and Fred VanNess.
The occasion is inspired by the project of psychotherapist and author Rick Miller: “Gay Sons and Mothers,” which chronicles the defining qualities between gay men and their mothers through interviews, videos and photos. Check out Miller’s project at gaysonsandmothers.com.
At the heart of the matter is acceptance.
In his 30+ years as a licensed psychotherapist working extensively with gay men and their families, Miller has keenly tuned into the special bond between gay men and their mothers—a relationship he too appreciates with first-hand experience.
“What I’ve found is that many of these mothers accepted their sons for who they are. Herein lies the power of their bond,” Miller writes on gaysonsandmothers.com. “What seems extraordinary is actually ordinary in many of these relationships. One thing many subjects have in common [is that they’ve] said, ‘She let me be me.'”
That’s not to say that disappointment that exists among gay men who have more difficult relationships with their mothers isn’t also explored in the project, which consists of an Instagram account(@gaysonsandmothers), a blog, and a docuseries.
“Gay Sons and Mothers” also includes notable interviews from Dan Savage, Isaac Mizrahi, Frankie Valenti (a.k.a. Johnny Hazard), Armistead Maupin and Benoit Denizet-Lewis.
For more on this unique and poignant project, visit gaysonsandmothers.com. Show time for the cabaret installation is 7:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 15, at Club Café. Tickets are $20.
