Caroline Aaron and Matt Doyle Photo by Carol Rosegg

With assured direction by Noah Himmelstein, the play comprises eleven scenes plus a prologue and epilogue. Each scene drops in on a key moment in the relationship of Maria Collavechio (Aaron) and her son Bobby (Doyle). The short scenes, which often include a sketch-like set-up, build, and concluding punchline, are delineated by projections on the back wall as if reproducing photos from the family album. (Caite Hevner designed the projections, which work well with Wilson Chin's simple and effective scenic design and Elizabeth Harper's atmospheric lighting. Notably, Ryan Park's costumes cleverly indicate the passing of time with instantly recognizable and often zany fashion choices.) Supertitles encapsulate the vignettes with familiar mom-isms, such as "Tell Me the Truth and I Won't Get Mad," and "If Everyone Jumped off a Bridge, Would You?"

Maria is a doting, protective mother, and she borders on a caricature of the martyred mater from situation comedy. (Think Marie Barone, played by Doris Roberts in "Everybody Loves Raymond.") For instance, she is quick to remind her son about the sacrifices she has made and the suffering she has endured. As she tells Bobby, "When I was pregnant with your brother Frankie? He would kick so hard I would slap my stomach just to try to get him to behave. And in that case, hitting him really did hurt me more."

The material is familiar and often uneven, but Aaron has the comic chops to make much of it seem fresh. Best known for her role as Shirley Maisel, the overbearing Jewish mother-in-law in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," Aaron has exquisite timing. It isn't surprising, then, that both the performer and the playwright have given the character, who is Italian American, a slight Yiddish accent. For instance, she peppers her banter with phrases like "fittutzed" (i.e., "fatootsed") and "I don't know from ...." It doesn't matter. As Maria, Aaron seems to be channeling Every-mom.

As Bobby, the eternal screw-up, Doyle is a terrific foil. His boyishness and charm are put to good use here since Bobby's bad choices could potentially try his mother's and audience's patience. In the first few scenes, he is in continual mischief while exploring his sexuality as a child and teen. As a young adult, determined to become a successful playwright (or "play-writer," as Maria says), he has trouble keeping a job, he lands in a terrible relationship, and he goes to rehab to for his addiction to crystal meth. Throughout it all, his mother is a constant source of both financial and emotional support, and only asking for a little filial guilt in exchange. She says, "I have been bailing you kids out for years. My girls? No problems at all. My boys? They knock down the 10 Commandments as if they were bowling pins."

Near the end of the play, Maria quotes a New York Times review of one of Bobby's plays, which said that the playwright hasn't "met a cliché he didn't like." It takes some chutzpah on the real-life playwright's part to provide fodder for real-life critics. If Conversations with Mother has its fair share of clichés, Aaron and Doyle at least offer entertaining opportunities for eavesdropping.