“Close’s performance...is a triumphant blend of sharp sense and passionate sensibility, of an old pro’s expertise and a newcomer’s enthusiasm...Ms. Anderson’s robustly sentimental play, a take on a saint-in-the-making from a parent’s perspective, provides an old-fashioned showcase for the kind of acting with a capital A that once had Broadway theatergoers queuing around the block...The supporting cast does well by Anderson’s conversational, expletive-laced dialogue.”
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“Anderson’s new play shifts the focus from Joan herself to Isabelle, the woman who raised her. Played by the always astonishing Close...At its core, this is a story every parent can identify with...We know that Joan’s terrible fate is sealed, but that doesn’t make the inevitable end any less heartbreaking: Close’s desperate efforts to bring her child home safe would bring tears to a statue’s eyes...Simple in structure but emotionally complex, it justifies raising Saint Joan from the dead yet again.”
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“Though its form and tone are more TV-ish than strikingly theatrical, ‘Mother of the Maid’ succeeds at a hard job: rehumanizing a myth...Anderson has threaded a tricky needle: She’s created a good human, not a perfect one but a really good one, and without an overabundance of sentimentality, she’s kept us interested in her...If anything disrupts 'Mother of the Maid’s' effective feel for very real domestic and social dynamics, it’s a theatrical rusticness in the actors’ approach to the language.”
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“As a title character in Anderson’s eccentric and startlingly play, Close takes on history and wins...’Mother of the Maid’ reunites the actress, as good here as you’ve seen her, with Anderson and director Matthew Penn. The three play off one another to great effect – Close’s regal demeanor an ironic counterpoint to Penn’s stark staging and Anderson’s near-comic workaday dialogue...After all the stylized wisecracking and winking, Anderson’s tale hits, when it hits, hard.”
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"It’s a tiresome road to that inevitable outcome...Dabbles in kitchen-sink drama, situation comedy, awkward mysticism and painfully self-serious memoir...The tone and approach zig and zag in conflicting directions, making it neither satisfying comedy nor drama...This is a play that allows Close to suffer, sacrifice, and fight for her child, and with her child...She’s a charismatic performer and it’s always a privilege to see her work up close...One wishes for a better vehicle for Close’s talent."
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“A historical drama so clunky and tonally confused it sometimes plays like a SNL sketch in search of a punchline...Penn's handsomely appointed production has one affecting interlude close to the end...But elsewhere the play is dull, prosaic and blighted by misplaced comedy, while Van Patten's performance is generally far less effective...Close approaches all this with an integrity and seriousness that the play seldom earns.”
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“Anderson sticks to the traditional Joan of Arc story while attempting to imbue it with some originality, but the end result is rather underwhelming. Were it not for Close, I highly doubt the characteristically adventurous Public Theater would have produced the play...Under the direction of Penn, Close delivers the kind of dynamic performance you would expect from a star: grim and glowing, gentle and forceful, with close attention paid to the character’s emotional journey.”
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“The fact that we know the end doesn't detract one iota from Anderson's thoughtful, thought-provoking, and timely play...Led by Close in a stellar performance...’Mother of the Maid’ now resonates more profoundly than it did at its world premiere...Penn confidently directs the play's dozen or so scenes with vigor and grace, aided by Anderson's smart revisions to the script, which she has tightened and polished...Top-notch acting also keeps the production consistently engaging.”
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