‘MOTHER (and me)’ is the story of a larger than life Hungarian Mama Rose who’s slowly waltzing into dementia, as her Broadway baby, Melinda shimmies into middle age. An outrageous one woman show about stepping up and into your own light.

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.  

Press Release: 

Daughter copes with mother's Alzheimer's through humor

Playwright Melinda Buckley stages latest work at the JCC in Sherman to support the local Alzheimer’s Association.

From an article originally written by Cynthia McCormick

It’s not easy for a daughter to pay tribute to a larger-than-life mother who was her biggest fan until she died at age 91 of Alzheimer’s disease.

There’s pain associated with memories of her feisty Hungarian immigrant mother, but writer and actress Melinda Buckley focuses on the joy and humor of their shared bond in “MOTHER (and me),” a one-woman show that she will perform at the JCC in Sherman, Ct.

Buckley, a former ballet soloist who has appeared on Broadway, said the performance is an attempt to capture the absurdities, pain but also transcendence of caring for a loved one suffering from the brain-destroying ravages of Alzheimer’s disease.

To Buckley, her mother, Eileen or ‘Ilus,’ was always a star.

“She was very beautiful and really funny and completely fearless,” Buckley said. What happened to her family in Hungary was so traumatic that Eileen refused to talk much, but Buckley managed to get her Mom to share some of the difficult stories, like the capture of her brother who was never seen again and her daring escape from Hungary after the borders were closed.  

But like many immigrants, she pursued her new life in the U.S. with great gallantry, even after her husband left her to raise Buckley and her brother, Frank, alone.

“Here she is with two kids, doesn’t really speak the language, doesn’t have a license,” said Buckley, who grew up in North Attleboro, Ma. “But she fought her way through.”

“She would babysit in exchange for my dance lessons,” Buckley said. “She did everything.”

After Eileen retired from the bank she went into real estate, Buckley said. “She never quit.”

Buckley, who danced as a ballet soloist in Europe, worked with Bob Fosse in the revival of “Sweet Charity,” said her mother was her biggest supporter and fan.

“She was always just - get out there! Do it!” Buckley said.

It was a shock when her bright, capable and upbeat mother started losing her mental faculties in her 80s, Buckley said.

“In the beginning with Alzheimer’s you don’t know what’s going on,” Buckley said. 

Like many families dealing with a loved one’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Buckley and her older brother dealt with one crisis after another as they tried to get services for their mother and then arrange for nursing home care.

Buckley, who had been working with Gotham City Improv and doing stand-up comedy, turned to writing to deal with the pain of losing her mother, first to this dreadful disease and then finally to her death in October 2013.

She showed her material to writer friend Matt Hoverman of Go-Solo.com, who said it was good but called it “another sad story about Alzheimer’s.”

Buckley rewrote the story using the sense of humor and fun she’d inherited from her mother, subtitling her play, “She Ain’t Crazy, She’s My Mother … A Daughter’s Story of Love, Loss and Goulash.”

A special one night only, intimate version of the solo play will be presented at the JCC in Sherman, Ct August 25th at 7 pm. Directly after the performance, there will be a talkback with Tina Hogan, Western Connecticut Program Director/Early Stage Coordinator for the Alzheimer's Assn. of CT and Carolyn DeRocco, BA, VP of Programs and Education, Alzheimer's Association,  Connecticut Chapter.

Following the evening, the performer and guests will be gathering at the Housatonic River Brewery where ticket holders will be able to purchase special beers, such as Gentle on my Mind and Forget me Not for $3.  These beers will also be available at the venue for a small donation. 

To learn more about the show (and to read some of the rave reviews the show has received), visit the play's website at: https://www.motherandmetheplay.com/