| Andre's Mother | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Written by | Terrence McNally |
| Directed by | Deborah Reinisch |
| Starring | Richard Thomas Sada Thompson Sylvia Sidney |
| Music by | Jonathan Sheffer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Lindsay Law |
| Producers | Sarah Green Deborah Reinisch |
| Cinematography | Bobby Bukowski |
| Editor | Jeffrey Wolf |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company | American Playhouse |
| Original release | |
| Network | PBS |
| Release | March 7, 1990 (1990-03-07) |
Andre's Mother is a 1990 Americanmade-for-televisiondrama film written byTerrence McNally, adapted from his 1988 stage play, directed by Deborah Reinisch and starringRichard Thomas,Sada Thompson, andSylvia Sidney. It was broadcast on thePBS television programAmerican Playhouse on March 7, 1990.
The play is set at theManhattan memorial service for Andre Gerard, who died ofAIDS and was buried inDallas several weeks earlier. Andre's mother Katharine cannot come to terms with his death or share her grief with Cal, Andre's lover. Her rage is directed not only at Cal and her own mother, who was less judgmental of her grandson's life, but at Andre himself as well.
The screenplay byTerrence McNally is an expansion of his eight-minute play written for an anthology titledUrban Blight that was produced by theManhattan Theater Club in 1988.[2][3][4]
The film was produced byWGBH Boston and was broadcast on March 14, 1990, byPBS stations nationwide as part of theAmerican Playhouse series.[1] It was released on Region 1 DVD on April 25, 2006.
John O'Connor ofThe New York Times called it one of those
...programs that vividly illustrate why public television can be indispensable....
"Andre's Mother" has been given a superb cast and an exquisite production ....
Even in this sensitive exercise, obviously, the subject of AIDS is handled with some trepidation. Andre cannot be just an average guy; he has to be a paragon.... But the AIDS epidemic is claiming ordinary and exceptionally gifted citizens alike. Perhaps they can all merit television's unselfconscious compassion some day. Meanwhile, bolstered powerfully by the performances of Miss Thompson and Mr. Thomas, "Andre's Way" makes encouraging headway in the right direction.[2]
McNally won theEmmy Award forOutstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special, and theNational Board of Review named it Outstanding Television Movie of the Year.