This is a great interview with MR. PARKER playwright Michael McKeever and Robert Sokol (TalkinBroadway.com). Here are selects from that interview.
“Mr. Parker represents people of a certain age, not necessarily even gay men, but people of a certain age who wake up one day after being in a long-term relationship and find themselves alone and not wanting to delve into a new world which is terrifying in so many different ways.
“I’ve been with my husband for twenty years, so I talked to friends about dating apps like Grindr for a short play and I spelled Grindr g-r-i-n-d-e-r and everyone found that just hysterical. It just shows you how little I know about that world. I wanted to investigate what happens when suddenly you find yourself alone in the world. Not necessarily about dating. Just being in what this world’s become and how it’s changed so drastically since the turn of the century.
“So, Mr. Parker, after shutting himself away and mourning not only his husband but also the life that he lived with him, steps out into the world for the first time in seven months to find out what’s out there. There’s a chance encounter, a one-night stand and, you know, it becomes the first step out of his bubble. I empathize with him, not only because of the shared age, but just by nature of his uncertainty, which I certainly have, and I think a lot of people have. When it played Off-Broadway, I was thrilled because I had so many friends, not only gay men, but straight men and women say, “My God, I understand exactly what he’s going through.” Or “I’ve never thought of that. What would I do in that situation?” That’s kind of what I always try to do with my plays–to write characters that the audience members can empathize, understand, and sympathize with.
“I think Michael Shaw at Dezart is amazing. I think the theatre company produces beautiful work and I always follow along to see what they’re doing. If I lived any closer, I would definitely be coming to see their work on a regular basis, but being on the other side of the country makes it difficult. As for the play, I think you’ve got it. I think the play is about being a certain age, the times in which we live now, and how to navigate through and be a part of it. It’s really that simple.”