With the definition of the American family constantly evolving, “The Surrogate” — a new play by Patricia Cotter making its world premiere at Centenary Stage Company Feb. 17 — looks at the families we’re born with, the families we choose and what makes a family today.
And it’s really funny, Cotter promises. Yes, this is a comedy, one that those who have read the play compare to television’s “Modern Family” or “Friends.”
“That’s my favorite thing to do: bring comedy into situations where you don’t expect to find it,” Cotter said in an interview with NJ Advance Media. “You can’t just go for the laugh. The things that are most hilarious are real-life situations.”
The story centers on Billy and Sara, a couple who are awaiting the birth of their second child via surrogate. They ask their closest friends, a lesbian couple, to serve as their children’s guardians in their absence. The request — and the unexpected arrival of the couple’s surrogate and Sara’s mother — spark complicated emotions across the board as each character questions their feelings and decisions.
Cotter wrote the play as part of Centenary’s Women Playwrights Series. Now entering its 26th year, the series aims to promote women writing for theater. The program has helped more than 60 female playwrights develop their works. More than a dozen of the plays written have premiered on Centenary’s main stage.
The show is being directed by Shelley Delaney, a Rutgers University MFA graduate who now heads the Performance Area at the Ohio University School of Theater.
“As a female theater artist, to work on something like this is so important,” Delaney said. “The female voice is becoming more and more visible on the American theater landscape and that’s uniquely essential now as our conversations turn to gender equality (and) human rights.
The play “makes very important points about a woman’s voice and where we are in this country,” she said. “That it’s couched in comedy is even better. We all need to laugh right now.”
Actress Katrina Ferguson — who plays Margaret, one half of the couple asked to serve as guardians — agreed that this is a timely production “for right now and the time we live in.”
“It’s basically about a group of people who are creating a family in a non-traditional way and what that means for everybody in their families, including their direct relatives and best friends,” Ferguson said. “It’s interesting how the choices of this young couple impact everyone else. We learn so much from our friends and what life throws at us. Consciously and unconsciously, there’s a lot to be learned from this seemingly conflicted situation.”
Five of the six characters in “The Surrogate” are female and represent a broad age range. Ferguson said that unique touch allows for different perspectives
“It’s fascinating to tile that together and see how we navigate as a group,” she said. “Hopefully people will come and laugh and cry and find someone on stage they can relate to.”
The Surrogate
Centenary Stage Company
715 Grand Ave, Hackettstown.
Tickets: $17.50-27.50, available online at https://tickets.centenarystageco.org/TheatreManager/1/online. Feb. 17 – March 5.
Natalie Pompilio is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at nataliepompilio@yahoo.com. Find her on Twitter @nataliepompilio. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.
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