Genghis Khan had a mother; so did Amelia Earhart and Dwight Eisenhower. Perhaps Mother of the Maid, starring Glenn Close as the woman whom Joan of Arc called Ma, will start a trend of offering the maternal perspective on historical figures. It should: Jane Anderson’s play, in a wonderfully acted production at the Public Theater, is amusing, moving, incongruous, just plain odd and riveting. What may be most fascinating about it is that, as improbable as many of the scenes may appear, the play is rooted in the historical record.

Full review on DC Theatre Scene

Click on any photograph by Joan Marcus to see it enlarged.

Grace Van Patten (Joan Arc) and Glenn Close (Isabelle Arc) in Mother of the Maid

Glenn Close and Grace Van Patten

Andrew Hovelson as Pierre Arc (Joan’s brother) and Glenn Close as Isabelle Arc (Joan’s Mother) in Mother of the Maid

Grace Van Patten and Andrew Hovelson as brother and sister

Kate Jennings Grant (as Lady of the Court), Olivia Gilliatt (as Monique), and Glenn Close (as Joan of Arc)

Daniel Pearce (as Father Gilbert)

Glenn Close (Isabelle Arc), Dermot Crowley (Jacques Arc),