“This is a tour-de-force by a highly talented and engaging actress. You may find yourself crying through side-splitting laughter.”
—Berkshire on Stage • FULL REVIEW
“a hit with audiences. A laugh-out-loud, heartwarming tribute to mothers everywhere.”
—Rochester City Newspaper • FULL REVIEW
“The mother/daughter dynamic is hilariously unpacked... Highly recommended.”
—TheatreinChicago.com • FULL REVIEW
History
MOTHER (and me) is a fast-paced 75-minute piece that uses the power of theater to bring people together around an important issue: Alzheimer’s, and the struggles families face while caring for a loved one.
What distinguishes MOTHER (and me) is that the subject is handled with skill and, more importantly, with humor. This beautiful show moves the audience, makes them laugh and in the end, is an incredibly uplifting piece of theater.
MOTHER (and me) was originally developed from bits of writing Melinda Buckley performed in Wynn Handman’s acting class. As the piece grew, Melinda brought it to her friend and playwright Matt Hoverman who helped her shape it into a solo play. In 2014, it premiered in the FringeNYC Festival at the Celebration of Whimsy where it had an extended run as that venue’s Best of Fest winner. Barbara Whitman, Tony Award-winning producer of Fun Home, saw the show and took it under her wing. Kimberly Senior, director of the Tony Award-winning play, Disgraced, joined the team, helping to refine the material and the production. MOTHER (and me) then went on to developmental runs at Chicago Shakespeare, off-Broadway’s Second Stage Uptown and Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY.
In 2016, MOTHER (and me) premiered in Chicago as a part of Greenhouse Theater’s Solo Celebration, one of 12 shows selected out of 400. The show subsequently had an enormously successful 3-week run at Geva Theatre Center, where it sold 225% above goal. In 2018, the play ran at the celebrated Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse as part of their Spring Solo Festival. The show has also played to full houses at the Cape Playhouse, the Cotuit Center for the Arts and Provincetown Works, as a much-needed fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod. During Covid, the show debuted in the virtual realm with San Francisco’s renowned Marsh Theatre as part of their Solo Arts Heal Festival. More recently, it was featured in Centenary Stage Company’s Solo Festival and at Catskill’s Bridge Street Theatre, where it received rave reviews and a BroadwayWorld nomination for Best Solo Performance. Continuing the show’s mission to support the Alzheimer’s Association, the show was also performed as a benefit at the JCC in Sherman, Ct. And we ended 2023 with a full house and a standing ovation at UMass, Amherst's Curtain Theater.