ROBIN'S SHOW REVIEW: A Charity Case

A CHARITY CASE starring Two-Time Tony Nominee Alison Fraser, Alysia Reiner (Sideways) and Jill Shackner (Les Miserables) began previews October 28th at The Clurman Theatre( 410 West 42nd Street- between 9th and 10th Avenues) and opened November 2nd. This new play about adoption is written and directed by Australian playwright Wendy Beckett.

As an adoptive parent myself, I was intrigued by the premise. In fact, my husband and I attended with another couple who had adopted. The next day, they commented it led them to have an introspective chat about their daughter who came from an orphanage in Russia.  I didn't find it so much an inspiration for discussion but rather for gratitude. The characters in the play were so extreme in the challenges they faced, i.e. alcoholism, a mental breakdown, threats of self infliction while yearning for love and acceptance, that I considered myself fortunate to be in a "positive place" with my son.

The play asks the question....Is it possible to find yourself when you don’t understand where you came from? A 17 year old girl struggles to come of age while caught between loyalty to the self-absorbed woman (raising her as a single mother) who became her adoptive mother and curiosity about the troubled woman who gave her away at age 3 by sending her off on a train.

A CHARITY CASE features Alison Fraser (as the adoptive mother), Jill Shackner (as the adopted daughter) and Alysia Reiner (as the birthmother).

Fraser most recently starred in School For Lies at Classic Stage Company and created the role of Sister Walburga in Charles Busch’s The Divine Sister.  She is a two-time Tony Award nominee for playing Martha in The Secret Garden and Josefine in Romance/Romance.  Film and TV credits include “Between the Lions,” “Law and Order: SVU,” “Third Watch,” The Thing About My Folks” opposite Peter Falk and Paul Reiser, “In the Blood” and the upcoming “Commentary.”

Shackner has appeared on Broadway in Les Miserables and Off-Broadway in Landscape of the Body, Prince and The Pauper, Penny 4 Eyes Rock N’ Roll Show, and The Broadway Kids. Her television credits include “All My Children,” “Three Moons Over Milford,” “As the World Turns,” “Out of the Box,” “Star Search,” and “Celebrity Deathmatch,” and film credits consist of “Text Me” (NYC International Film Festival – Best Actress Nominee; Houston Comedy Film Festival – Best Actress Nominee), “Paper Man,” and “House of D.”

Reiner is an award-winning stage, screen and television actress. Recent theatre credits include Tina Modotti in Modotti, Hillary (The Public), the Obie winning An Oak Tree, Jayson with a Y (The New Group), Anais Nin:One of Her Lives, Wasps in Bed, Pentecost (Drama Desk Nom.) and the NY Premiere of Tender. Recent films include “The Vicious Kind,” “Not For Nothing” “Arranged,” “Schooled,” “ One Last Thing,” “ Sideways” TV includes recurring role of Cindy on “The Starter Wife,” “ 30 Rock,” “White Collar,” “The Sopranos,” “Blue Bloods,” “Law and Order,” “Love Monkey,” “The Jury,” “The Drew Cary Show,” “The Practice,” “Family Law” and “Jack and Jill,” and the new web series “Puppy Love.”

The acting is generally strong, particularly on the part of Fraser. When Reiner lost the hippie garb and blonde wig, she came all the more alive as an actress of poise and presence. While she exuded impassioned emotion as hippie Harpie, her costume was distracting, and her rants grew tiresome.  Shackner's appealing as the daughter, but her performance had moments of affectation. Fraser's portrayal of a dress designer/seamstress struggling with her own demons is compelling and tinged with compassion.

The play does offer disturbing moments, i.e. when Fraser, heatedly tears up the stitching of the daughter's homemade homecoming gown....and poignant moments, i.e. when Shackner quietly asks the million dollar question, "Who decides what makes a mother?"

Writer and director Wendy Beckett has written more than 25 plays (all staged) and directed more than 40 in England, France Scotland Australia and New York. A native of Australia, she has also written radio plays for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). She later went on to conduct interviews for ABC with some of the best minds of our time, including Leonard Bernstein, Yehudi Menuhin and Martha Graham. At the early age of 22, she founded her own women’s theatre company, ‘Colours Inc’ and began bringing to the stage several plays, which toured Australia. Her most notable works include Without Limits-Isadora Duncan, Anais Nin-One of Her Lives, Claudel, Losing My Religion, Love Therapy and Refugees. Her directorial credits include works by Shakespeare, The Cherry Orchard, Waiting For Godot and The Women of James Joyce. Recently, she has directed her own work, For the Love of Alma Mahler at the Sydney Opera House, accompanied by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. She has been a university lecturer, author, librettist and journalist. Ms. Beckett’s works are collected by The Australian National Library in Canberra.

Scenic design is by David L Arsenault, with lighting design by Travis McHale and costume design by Theresa Squire.

The playing schedule for A CHARITY CASE is as follows: Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8pm, with matinees on Saturday at 2pm and Sundays at 3PM. The Clurman Theatre is on Theatre Row – 410 West 42nd Street (between 9th and 10th Avenue).  The show is 85 minutes, no intermission.

SPECIAL OFFER: $30 TICKETS (reg. $35)
THREE EASY WAYS TO BUY:
ONLINE: Visit http://www.broadwayoffers.com/, and use code TRMKT11
PHONE: Call 212.947.8844 and use code TRMKT11
IN PERSON: Bring a printout of this offer to the Theatre Row box office
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: http://www.pascalproductions.net/
*Ticket prices include $1.25 facility fee. All sales are final. Regular service fees apply. Subject to availability.

ROBIN GORMAN NEWMAN CHATS WITH: SUSAN ROSE AND JOAN STEIN, PRODUCERS/CONCEIVERS, MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD, THE NEW OFF BWAY SHOW

Where and when did the idea for MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD come from?

Susan (left photo): I was a active Broadway Producer in the 80's. When my daughter Samantha was born, I decided to become a full time mom. When she started first grade, I began working part time. I teamed up with a partner in LA, and we developed/produced movies for television. When Sammi was in High School, I saw the Sara Jones's show BRIDGE AND TUNNEL. It explored the Immigrant experience in such a unique way, and I came out asking what is another universal subject that could be presented theatrically, and immediately thought MOTHERHOOD.

Joan, how did you and Susan come to partner on it?

Joan (right photo): Susan and I met 25 years ago in NY -- we were part of the "young turks" in the NY theatre -- and worked together producing on and off broadway as well as being part of The Producers Group -- an organization comprised of young commercial producers --and we have been friends since then.

We each have had our own experiences with motherhood -- for 10 years, my husband and I tried to have a family -- after fertility operations, a miscarriage, and 3 failed adoptions - we finally decided that we had to focus our lives on what we have, and not on what we don't have. And what we have includes loving friends and families, as well as a relationship with our niece and nephew -- which is as close to parental as one can get without being the actual parents. Both of them now have children of their own, and we are lucky enough to still be very close. My niece refers to me as "Aunt Mommy" -- which is just about the sweetest compliment I could ever imagine.

What are some of the subjects addressed, and how did you choose the particular playwrights included?

Susan: We figured out that it would be hard to attract the interest of one writer to write the show. Writers who write solo shows have their own ideas and are usually working on something personal to them. We decided to create a show by a group of writers to share varied mothering experiences. We wanted it to be authentic, real and honest, and the play covers diverse subjects such as immigrant moms, adoption, special needs children and same sex parenting. More importantly, it explores the life cycle and how mothers always have a role regardless of how old your children are.

What is the message you hope people will take away from the show?

Joan: I hope that everyone who sees the show will feel united by this universal experience -- after all, we all are mothers and/or have mothers -- and know that this one word -- Motherhood - expresses membership in the same club where we have different, vital, meaningful experiences.

Tell us about the history of the show prior to arriving in NY? How did it come to be produced at Primary Stages?

Joan: Susan and I started by reaching out to writers whom we know and asking them to share their personal stories with us. All in all, we gathered more than 35 stories! About a year into this process, we brought Lisa Peterson in to direct and help develop the play. The show started to take shape, and we had to make the difficult decision of which pieces best fit into the structure. That was the hardest part, because all the stories were wonderful -- but we knew we had to keep the play at a manageable length.  After several staged readings and workshop productions, we had our world premiere at Hartford Stage Company in March 2010, followed by a west coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles in February 2011, and now we are looking forward to our NYC debut at Primary Stages this fall. We came to each of those theatres through personal relationships and with the imprimatur of having 15 of  the best playwrights in the country represented in MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD.

What has the reaction of the cast been to the material?

Susan: A lot of our cast members are moms and really connect with the material. Even if they aren’t mothers, everyone has a mother.

Have you gotten feedback from moms/dads who’ve seen the show?

Joan: Sometimes I watch the audience during a performance, and I see men and women nodding as they identify with the material -- whether it is about the questions confronting a young mom, or the things that none of us want to say out loud until we realize that everyone else is feeling or has had the same unspoken thoughts. Everyone has a story, and everyone wants to be heard. MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD encourages us to celebrate our similarities and our differences -- and above all -- to appreciate Motherhood, traditional or not -- as the most rewarding, difficult and important contribution you can make to a person's life.

Susan, you’re a mom. Was there anything from your parenting experience that played a role in the development of the show? Now that your daughter is 21, any advice you’d care to share with  moms of young children?

Susan: When we presented the first workshop of the play, my daughter, who is an only child, was a Senior in High School, and she had just been accepted to George Washington University. Leslie Avayzian's "Threesome" in MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD is about being an Empty Nester, and I still cry every time I hear it.

Nothing prepares you for Motherhood. I didn't grow up around alot of babies and younger children. When my daughter was born, I had never changed a diaper. I always wanted children, and having them was not easy, so when Sammi entered our lives, I really embraced Motherhood. I am a huge multi-tasker, but I found especially in the early years of raising a child, it is all consuming and leaves little room for other pursuits..at least in my experience. Today, mothers can, thanks to social networking, connect readily with others to share experiences. It makes it less isolating, and that's a help on a day-to-day basis when you're caught up in the tasks that come with parenting.  So, make a point of reaching out.  You're never alone.

What are future plans for the production?

Joan: We are planning on taking MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD all over the country and world -- this is a subject matter that  touches everyone's hearts - and we want to reach as many as possible. We are so proud to be part of this extraordinary collection of talent, and are humbled by the beautiful, funny, moving quilt of stories they have created -- this show, similar to Motherhood itself, is nothing like what we imagined, and better than we could have ever hoped for.

For information about MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD, visit http://www.motherhoodoutloud.com.  The show dates at Primary Stages in NYC are September 20th - October 29th.

Robin Gorman Newman, is Associate Producer of MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD and founder, http://www.MotherhoodLater.com, a community/resource for those parenting later in life.  Motherhood Later has a group outing to see the show on Friday, 9/23, 8pm, followed by a TalkBack moderated by Robin and featuring Susan and Joan, playwrights, etc. To purchase a discount ticket for that evening, use code MOM923 and visit Primary Stages.