CONVERSATIONS WITH MOTHER to Debut at Good Theater

Good Theater has announced that it is the first regional theater to secure production rights to Matthew Lombardo's acclaimed off-Broadway play, Conversations with Mother. The funny, insightful, and deeply moving comedy will run November 5- 22, 2026, at Stevens Square Theater in Portland, directed by Artistic Director Brian P. Allen and starring Denise Poirier and Michael Wood*.

Spanning five decades, Conversations with Mother follows Maria and her son Bobby through a lifetime of love, disagreements, laughter, and change. Through a series of revealing conversations, the play explores the complexities of the parent-child relationship, capturing both the humor and heartache of growing up, growing older, and navigating the family bonds that shape our lives.

Good Theater's involvement with the production began with actor David Bass-Clark, who previously appeared in the company's productions of A Man of No Importance and It Shoulda Been You, and Michael Lynch, the theater's Director of Audience Services, who saw the play during a visit to New York City. Both enthusiastically recommended the work to Allen. Through Bass-Clark's connection to one of the original production's producers, Allen was able to obtain the script before it became generally available.

“I thought I'd read a couple of pages to get the flavor of the piece,” said Allen. “Forty-five minutes later, I was still reading, laughing out loud and getting a lump in my throat at the same time! I loved the play.”
That early connection gave Good Theater the opportunity to become the first regional theater to sign a production agreement for the acclaimed work, bringing Lombardo's intimate two-character comedy to Maine audiences.

For Allen, the play's appeal extends beyond its considerable humor to its remarkably honest portrayal of family relationships.

“Family can be a wonderful thing. It can also be a difficult thing. Sometimes both can be true at the same time,” Allen said. “This play is a simple story, but it encompasses so many facets of the parent-child relationship that I think most people will recognize a moment from their own lives in this lovely story.”
The production also holds particular personal meaning for Allen, who calls his 90-year-old mother every morning at 8:00, a daily ritual he has maintained since his father's passing more than a decade ago. Those moments of connection reflect one of the play's central themes: the enduring importance of maintaining relationships as life and circumstances change.

Conversations with Mother has earned enthusiastic critical praise, with DC Theater Arts calling it “Laugh-out-loud funny, sharply insightful, and deeply touching.” New York Stage Review praised the work as an “excellent two-hander” that “speaks volumes about life, liberty and the often impossible pursuit of happiness.”

Good Theater's production features Denise Poirier as Maria and Michael Wood* as Bobby, under the direction of Brian P. Allen. Together, the two actors bring to life an evolving mother-son relationship that is at once intensely personal and universally recognizable.