''Stage Mother'' is a 2020 Canadian
comedy-drama
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film directed by
Thom Fitzgerald
Thomas "Thom" Fitzgerald (born July 8, 1968) is an American-Canadian film and theatre director, screenwriter, playwright and producer.
Life
Fitzgerald was born and raised in New Rochelle, New York. His parents divorced when he was five years ol ...
, from a screenplay by Brad Hennig. The film stars
Jacki Weaver
Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film, and television actress. Her accolades include five AACTA Awards (including the Longford Lyell Award) and a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations ...
,
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...
,
Adrian Grenier
Adrian Sean Grenier (born July 10, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Vincent Chase in the television series '' Entourage'' (2004–2011). He has appeared in films such as '' Drive Me Crazy'' (1999), '' The Devil ...
,
Mya Taylor, Allister MacDonald, Oscar Moreno and
Jackie Beat
Jackie Beat (born July 24, 1963) is the drag persona of actor, singer, songwriter and screenwriter Kent Fuher. Beat has appeared in a number of independent feature films both in and out of drag, including '' Wigstock: The Movie'', '' Flawless'', ...
.
''Stage Mother'' had its world premiere at the
Palm Springs International Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 19 ...
on January 4, 2020 and was released in the United States on August 21, 2020 by
Momentum Pictures
Momentum Pictures was a film distributor owned by Entertainment One, a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Prior to 2013, it was a brand of Canadian distributor Alliance Films used for its releases in the United Kingdom, and was one of the leading ...
.
Premise
The story follows a conservative
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
choir director who inherits a
drag club in San Francisco started by her deceased son, from whom she was estranged after he
came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
as gay.
Cast
*
Jacki Weaver
Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film, and television actress. Her accolades include five AACTA Awards (including the Longford Lyell Award) and a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations ...
as Maybelline Metcalf
**
Sofia Banzhaf as young Maybelline Metcalf
*
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...
as Sienna
*
Adrian Grenier
Adrian Sean Grenier (born July 10, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Vincent Chase in the television series '' Entourage'' (2004–2011). He has appeared in films such as '' Drive Me Crazy'' (1999), '' The Devil ...
as Nathan
*
Mya Taylor as Cherry Poppins
* Allister MacDonald as Joan of Arkansas
* Oscar Moreno as Tequila Mockingbird
*
Jackie Beat
Jackie Beat (born July 24, 1963) is the drag persona of actor, singer, songwriter and screenwriter Kent Fuher. Beat has appeared in a number of independent feature films both in and out of drag, including '' Wigstock: The Movie'', '' Flawless'', ...
as Dusty Muffin
*
Lenore Zann
Lenore Zann (born November 22, 1959) is a Canadian actress and politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Cumberland—Colchester in the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Liberal Party. Before ent ...
as Bevette
*
Anthony Skordi
Anthony George Skordi is a British-American actor. He is best known for his roles as Admiral Garrick Versio in ''Star Wars Battlefront II (2017 video game), Star Wars Battlefront II'', and The Dealer in the ''Hand of Fate (video game), Hand of F ...
as August
*
Hugh Thompson as Jeb Metcalf
* Eldon Thiele as Ricky Metcalf
*
Callum Dunphy as Chappy
Production
In May 2018, it was announced that
Jacki Weaver
Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film, and television actress. Her accolades include five AACTA Awards (including the Longford Lyell Award) and a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations ...
,
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...
, and
Taye Diggs
Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs (né Berry; born January 2, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals '' Rent'' and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', the TV series '' Private Practice'' (2007–2013), '' Murder in ...
had signed on to appear in the film, with filming set to take place in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
, Canada.
[ However, Diggs had to drop out of the production due to scheduling conflicts.] Filming took place in late 2018.[
]
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 19 ...
on January 4, 2020. Shortly after, Momentum Pictures
Momentum Pictures was a film distributor owned by Entertainment One, a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Prior to 2013, it was a brand of Canadian distributor Alliance Films used for its releases in the United Kingdom, and was one of the leading ...
acquired distribution rights to the film, and set it for an August 21, 2020, release.
References
External links
*
{{Thom Fitzgerald
2020 films
2020 LGBTQ-related films
2020 comedy-drama films
Canadian comedy-drama films
Cross-dressing in Canadian films
Drag (entertainment)-related films
Films set in San Francisco
Films set in Texas
LGBTQ-related comedy-drama films
English-language Canadian films
Films directed by Thom Fitzgerald
Films shot in Halifax, Nova Scotia
2020s English-language films
2020s Canadian films
English-language comedy-drama films