Decades after 'The Waltons,' Michael Learned tackles another mother of a role

 M ICHAEL Learned's credentials as a make-believe mother are impeccable. After all, the veteran actress created an iconic mom for the baby boomers with her portrayal of Olivia, the matriarch of the Depression-era family depicted in the folksy 1970s TV drama, "The Waltons."

Now, she's in Philadelphia prepping for her role as another mother, albeit one whose issues are light years from those confronted by Olivia Walton.

On Feb. 6, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre curtain will rise on Philadelphia Theatre Company's monthlong production of "Mothers and Sons," Terrence McNally's drama about the nature of maternal love and a mother's struggles to deal with the 20-years-earlier AIDS death of her son. Learned plays the titular mama, Katherine, in the piece that had its world premiere in June 2013 at New Hope's Bucks Playhouse, and which went on to a brief, unsuccessful 2014 stay on Broadway.

According to Learned, this isn't just another gig, but the opportunity to act in a play that has real relevance to her.

"It's not just about homosexuality and a woman who can't come to grips with the fact her son was a homosexual," she said during a recent, post-rehearsal phone chat. "It's about, really, mothers and sons. There's a lot of resonance in it for me as the mother of three sons, and what my friends who have sons have gone through.

"When you have a son, you [ultimately] lose the son. When you have a daughter, she kind of sticks around. A son has to put his affection elsewhere. This is the story of a mother who can't quite understand it, and is trying to cope with her loss, both metaphorically and literally."

Not that Learned initially leapt at the chance to play Katherine.

"When I first read the play, I said, 'I can't be this person.' I saw her as kind monstrous," she admitted. "But the more I delve into the play, I find I can kind of [see] things through her point of view and her eyes. There are a lot of references to her love of her son, and she was a devoted and loving and caring mother to him when he was little. But he did not want to be owned, which is healthy, really, but sometimes difficult for a mother."

Learned could tour as Katherine for the next 10 years, but she will forever be best-known - and beloved - for "The Waltons." Some four decades later, that still surprises her.

She recalled attending a screening of the series' pilot episode with her co-stars, Ralph Waite and Richard Thomas, and finding it difficult to take seriously.

"We thought, 'There's some guy in a big bear rug running around, and John-Boy's afraid to shoot the turkey,' " she offered. "We thought, 'This will never go, never, never, never.'

"None of us ever saw it coming. Today, people come up to me, and they are so emotional and so humble and so touching. I get a lump in my throat just [talking about it].

"I feel humbled and honored to have been part of that show. There were people whose lives were deeply, deeply touched by it. [Creator] Earl Hamner has left a wonderful legacy."

"The Waltons" may have provided Learned emotional gratification, but financial? Not so much, these days.

"I got a [residual] check for two cents the other day," she said, in a mock-bragging tone. "And the one before that was for four cents. I have them both taped up to my kitchen door."

$46-$73, 215-985-0420, philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.

"Doubt: A Parable," John Patrick Shanley's 2004 meditation on the roles played by moral certitude and, well, doubt, in the human condition is getting a strong and compelling reading in Lantern Theater's production, at St. Stephen's Theater.

Set in a Bronx Catholic School in 1964, "Doubt," which runs through Feb. 15, is centered on the intractable suspicion harbored by the school's nun-principal that its priest is a pedophile who has targeted a particularly vulnerable eighth-grade boy.

What could have been a ripped-from-the-headlines potboiler - "Doubt" debuted in 2004 - is instead a complex and nuanced game of cat-and-mouse powered by Shanley's riveting dialogue and exceptional work from its four-person cast.

As Sister Aloysius, local stage stalwart Mary Martello is icy, shrewd and unyielding in her belief in the priest's guilt.

Another regional powerhouse, Ben Dibble, ably leaves us guessing as to whether his Father Flynn is a benign actor motivated by his concern for his students, or a sociopath driven by his carnal cravings.

And in the small, but pivotal role as the alleged victim's mother, Lisha McKoy is perfect as she reacts to Sr. Aloysius' suspicions in a most unexpected, and unsettling way.

But the real gem here is Clare Mahoney, as Sister James, a sunny and enthusiastic young teacher who is ultimately emotionally poisoned by Aloysius' sour world view.

All operate under the confident direction of Kathryn MacMillan, who makes the most of the theater's intimate dimensions.

"Doubt: A Parable," which is performed in a punchy and swift 85 minutes or so (sans intermission) combines an intelligent, thought-provoking script and top-of-the-game acting to create a powerful and memorable piece.