A stage mother to die for

By Vivienne Leheny

Sandra Boynton loves chocolate. Her iconic Hippos — and pigs, dogs, and other round-eyed fuzzies that frolic across her greeting cards and children’s books — also love chocolate. Her son, Keith Boynton, does not: “It’s a bit of a family joke that when mom was pregnant with me, she consumed enough chocolate to last me a lifetime. So, no, I don’t really care for chocolate.”

Despite this critical aesthetic difference, the two have managed to pull off a creative collaboration with Sandra directing Keith in his one-act play, “The Quotable Assassin,” which opens this weekend at Altered Stages. It appears along with another one-act written and directed by Keith entitled “Walls,” on a bill promising “Love, Death and Interior Decorating.” Notably, chocolate plays a featured role.

If cocoa-love doesn’t run in the family, talent assuredly does. Keith is a 2005 graduate of Amherst College and already an Scholastic Pinnacle Award-winning and New York City-produced playwright, whose work has been read by such luminaries as Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Sam Waterston, and “coughed” in the case of Meryl Streep. Coughed?
“Well, that play (“The Improbable Tragedy of Dr. Ivan Roshashonnavich”) is my Chekhov parody and the character that Meryl played is dying of consumption, so she doesn’t say a thing — no words are scripted for her. She has to cough her intentions. Of course she was brilliant.”

The same could be said of Keith’s mom, Sandra, the prolific greeting card designer whose 5000-odd (and odd) creations helped put the Recycled Paper Company on the map. She’s also a New York Times best-selling children’s book writer (with “Chocolate: The Consuming Passion,” among them) and a Grammy-nominated songwriter, with four albums under her belt and a fifth on the way. “Director” can be added now to that roster of accomplishments. Turns out, it’s a long time coming.

“I went to UC Berkeley’s graduate school to become a theatre critic so I entered the directing program. Then I discovered I wanted to direct, so I dropped out and entered Yale Drama School — in their criticism program. I don’t know what I was thinking. I didn’t graduate from there either — I got married [to Jamie McEwan, an Olympic white water rafter], got pregnant and a ‘life in the theatre’ seemed unlikely,” particularly given New York City’s limited white water rafting options. Her greeting cards had already taken off so the decision to forgo the theatre was not too difficult.

Sandra’s dream deferred is now realized, even though she was initially wary of taking on direction of Keith, in Keith’s own play. The opportunity came when her daughter, the actress Caitlin McEwan, moved to Los Angeles to pursue work there.

Keith had planned to direct Caitlin in “Walls,” a piece about a young man who returns after abandoning his longtime friend and one-night lover to find her literally dismantling the family home in the wake of her father’s death. (Actually, it’s quite funny.) And Caitlin was slated to direct Keith in his play “The Quotable Assassin,” in which a compelling political prisoner engages in a bit of chocolate-based seduction with a stubborn female fiction writer. Once his sister decamped for L.A., Keith immediately found an actress to replace her, but he lost two young directors in quick succession to higher profile, better-paying jobs.

“Two 20-somethings getting directing jobs? That strikes me as pretty much statistically impossible,” avers Sandra. With dates already on the calendar and Altered Stages booked, Keith needed someone he could “rely on in a pinch.”

What happened next provides an exercise in “Rashomon”-like storytelling. “Mom was the one who first brought up the possibility. She suggested it and in the same breath she said ‘no’,” says Keith. Sandra claims he approached her: “Keith asked me twice and I said, “I’m too busy! I can’t move to New York for weeks of rehearsal!” They both agree, however, that after that initial “dance,” as Keith says, he went back to Sandra and wheedled: “Okay, what’s the maximum amount of time you could commit?” “Three days,” she promptly declared. But, because “mom’s a perfectionist,” says Keith, “I knew it’d be a lot longer.”

Weeks later, Sandra’s now living out of a hotel room in Chelsea, buffing and polishing the show in rehearsals and in her spare time, writing music for “The Quotable Assassin” with her longtime composer-collaborator, Michael Ford. “Keith knew I was gonna get suckered in once I saw Altered Stages,” and Chelsea itself has worked its considerable charms. “Oh God, I love it here,” Sandra moans, a hefty measure of resignation in her voice.

She also loves directing: “It’s the potential for extraordinary catastrophe that hooks you.” Recently, Sandra was approached by several producing companies interested in having her develop shows based on her albums with Michael. She’s pretty sure she might like to direct them. “It’s an exciting time. Keith’s writing is wonderful and it feels like everything is coalescing.”

Listening to Sandra discuss the joys of directing it’s tempting to ascribe a certain omniscience to Keith for roping her in, and especially considering the chocolate reference in “Quotable Assassin.” Simon, the titular character (and the role Keith plays) confides to the female character, Lucia:

Do you know the moment when I saw it all come together? . . . . When you gave me chocolates. That said it all. . . . I knew from that moment that you were the perfect ally. And you were.”

As Sandra would say, “suckered” indeed.