A night out at the Theatre: Mom's the Word

Picture a mother telling her friend a story. She and her son were having the worst day and she finally broke down in tears. The most amazing thing happened after that. Her son gave her a hug and was an angel the rest of the day. (This reminded me of something I experienced on a bad day with Jack - see The Job of Parenting). Her friend agreed, Oh ya, I use that trick all the time, but you know what works better than tears? Pretend your dead!

I'm paraphrasing from a skit I witnessed last night at Theatre Calgary's Mom's the Word: For Crying Out Loud. If this production comes to your town, you need to go see it. I laughed so hard I cried. Hysterically funny!

The audience roared with laughter, as scene after scene from our own lives were acted out in the funniest ways. One mom described  starting out each day as Mary Poppins and ending up Cruella De Vil. Who has not felt that way some days?

There was a brief skit about the challenge of preparing three meals a day - three different meals a day - three nutritious and different meals a day - every day. I could really relate (see Lunch Should be a Four Letter Word).

Writing humour is not easy and I was surprised at how hilarious this play was. Of course, motherhood is full of funny moments, sometimes tragically so. It was a long play - about 2 hours - but still I wanted more.

There were touching moments too, dealing with such topics as changing relationships with our kids and husbands, and dealing with a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Superbly written, and so well performed. Thanks for the laughs, ladies!

Here's a clip from rehearsals. If you are unable to see the video below, click here to view it on blip.tv.