Video: Go Inside Rehearsals for Paula Vogel's MOTHER PLAY

"There are not a lot of mother plays written by women. I understand why... there's guilt, the understanding of how hard it is for women," explained playwright Paula Vogel in a break from rehearsals for her aptly named, Mother Play. "There is also a deep desire for me to play homage at look at this incredible woman in my life. When I say it's semi-autobiographical... there's a lot of poetic license in this."

Second Stage Theater will soon present the premiere of Vogel's new play, directed by Tina Landau.

It’s 1962, just outside of D.C., and matriarch Phyllis (Jessica Lange) is supervising her teenage children, Carl (Jim Parsons) and Martha (Celia Keenan-Bolger), as they move into a new apartment. Phyllis has strong ideas about what her children need to do and be to succeed, and woe be the child who finds their own path. Bolstered by gin and cigarettes, the family endures — or survives — the changing world around them. Blending flares of imaginative theatricality, surreal farce, and deep tenderness, this beautiful rollercoaster ride reveals timeless truths of love, family, and forgiveness.

"[All three actors] are extraordinary in their own right, but also in how they have bonded as a family," said Laundau. "We were fortunate enough to do a workshop a couple of months ago and they have come together in such a beautiful way. It's such a gift as a director because I can sit back, let them do their thing and edit."