A Conversation With Director Hailey McAfee, "here comes the night," The Zephyr Theatre, The SheLA Festival, by James Scarborough
A Conversation with Playwright/Actress Dina Morrone, “My Uterus, a Womb with a View,” Theatre West, by James Scarborough

A Conversation With Playwright/Director Lloyd J. Schwartz, “Poems for Mary,” Theatre West, by James Scarborough

“Poems for Mary” by Lloyd J. Schwartz, premiering at Theatre West, explores the profound and often uncharted emotional territories within familial relationships. Schwartz, renowned for his diverse work, including “A Very Brady Musical” and “Gilligan’s Island- The Musical,” shows us the subtleties of grief, discovery, and reconciliation. The play’s story revolves around two grown children who uncover their deceased father’s secret poetry, revealing facets of his life and personality previously unknown to them. This discovery serves as a catalyst for reflection and re-evaluation of their understanding of their father, illustrating the complexity of human relationships and the enduring impact of artistic expression.

“Poems for Mary” attests to Schwartz’s ability to blend humor, pathos, and observation, affirming how art bridges the gaps between generations and reveals the unseen layers of our loved ones.

JS: What inspired you to write “Poems for Mary?” How did you develop the narrative around the discovery of a father’s poetry?

LS: When I had an office at a studio, a man entered with a box of his father’s poetry and asked my opinion. I noticed that some of the paper was yellowed.  I asked him if there were any particular order, and he said, “No.”

I read the poems and saw that they were heartfelt.  But that was where the idea came from.  What if a man wrote a poem after every significant moment in his life?  And if he put a title and a date on the poems, then we could follow his life.  The actual writing of the novel took several years since I would write a poem when an idea struck me. The narrative of the play came much later.  The poems were meant to be a novel in poetry.  Then I thought that it could have a theatrical life as well.  And that whole element of a brother and a sister discovering the poems when they were cleaning out their parent’s home came naturally. 

JS: How does this play differ from your previous works like “A Very Brady Musical” and “Gilligan’s Island- The Musical” in terms of theme and tone?

LS: Everything I write tells me what tone it should have.  The work also tells me what form and in what medium is right for the piece. I have been blessed to write for theatre, television and movies. I always refer to something in its right form as a “happy project.” So often you see a movie that would be better as TV series or a half-hour four camera comedy that would be better as a one hour show. Even the musicals that you mentioned were stylistically different from one another.  The Brady Musical is a satire.  Whereas the Gilligan musical plays like an extended grand episode with music. 

JS: Discuss the casting process for the play. What do Kathie Barnes and Alan Schack bring to their roles?

LS:  There was no casting process.  I had worked with Kathie before, and her empathy and feistiness were right for the role.  I had known Alan Schack for years, and he brought more of an introspective quality to the role.  I had not considered anyone else for either role. It would be interesting to see other people play the brother and sister.

JS: Theatre West has a rich history of producing original works. How has the theatre’s legacy influenced your creative process for this play?

LS: Theatre West has been my creative home for the last forty years.  It has a great talent pool of actors, and its workshops provide arenas in which you can develop the work. 

JS: What do you hope audiences take away from the themes of grief and discovery in the production?

LS:  Funny thing about themes.  Excuse the namedropping, but I was talking to Neil Simon about themes in his plays, and he said, “Never write a play with a theme.  Just write the play, and other people will find the themes.  I certainly never thought of “Poems for Mary” as a play about grief and discovery.  However, if the audience sees it that way, that’s fine with me.  After the audience sees a performance, the play will belong to them as well as to me.

JS: How do you approach blending humor and pathos in “Poems for Mary”?

LS: Each of the poems is an entity unto itself.  Some are funny; some achieve pathos…though I never strive for that.  I let the poems take me where they go, and it’s my job to make them right for themselves.

JS: Elaborate on the significance of poetry within the play.

LS: The important aspect of the poetry is that the poet is not a very good poet.  He is an everyman who just writes from the heart. The first poems are written as a child would write them, and then they grow more sophisticated…not necessarily in their style, but in the depth of meaning to the man as he grows older.

JS: What is its impact on the characters’ understanding of their father?

LS: That is where the play differs from the novel.  The characters of the children of the poet now can react when the poems are about a relationship between their mother and father that they didn’t know about.  And then when the poems are about them, they can learn about their father’s view of them…something they probably never knew before. Wouldn’t you really want to know the truth of what your parents really think of you?

JS: What challenges did you face in directing your own work? How did you overcome them?

LS As a director, I deliberately forget that I was the writer.  I never look at the script when directing, since the play is all that’s important.

JS: How does “Poems for Mary” contribute to the ongoing dialogue about family dynamics and the arts’ role in personal revelation?

LS: I hope it does. When we had a reading some years ago, I was surprised how the poems affected the audience.  People would cry at different times as one of the poems would strike him or her with an unexpected impact.  As an artist, that is the best reaction I could hope for.

JS: What are your thoughts on the evolution of Theatre West and its importance in supporting and showcasing original plays like yours?

LS: Theatre West has been around a long time, and I am pleased that it changes with the times. Before, the shows they presented were reflective of society then…and the new shows coming out of Theatre West portray the way society is moving. Theatre is a living, breathing thing.

Performances are Saturday, July 27, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, July 28 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 suggested donation. The Theatre West is located at 3333 Cahuenga Boulevard West, Los Angeles, CA 90068. For more information, click here.

PoemsForMaryFeatureImage