What Is the Story of Painting Churches?
Painting Churches centers on Gardner and Fanny Church, a elderly WASP couple in Boston, and their artist daughter, Mags. Gardner is a celebrated poet who has begun to decline mentally. Fanny, his flamboyant wife, is preparing for a permanent (and money-saving) move to their Cape Cod cottage. Mags arrives from New York to help her parents pack and to paint their portrait, a project they don’t seem to take seriously. The play explores the origins of the prickly relationship between the Churches and their daughter while poking gentle fun at the world they live in.