We Were There- Motherhood the Musical

To say I was excited to go see Motherhood the Musical last Friday night at Trinity Repertory is an understatement. The last five live-performance shows I’ve gone to have involved either an ogre excreting ungodly sounds, Peter Pan flying across a zip-line or a sparkling princess leaping into endless double axels on ice. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed those shows too (and, let’s face it, everyone laughs at a good ogre fart), but I was finally going out to see something for ME and not for my tribe of children. Although I had to come to terms with the fact that wine would replace popcorn (in a normal world, that wouldn’t be an issue), I acclimated. And then drank wine.

I’d already heard that Motherhood was hysterical. In fact, my sister-in-law began singing “Mammaries” (in the tune of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Memory”) within 22 seconds of our conversation about the show, the week prior. (Which, by the way, she sang quite well. My sister-in-law often surprises me with her endless bags of tricks. She also surprises me with her ability to say inappropriate things only when my mother-in-law is around.) In that moment, I knew this show was going to be relatable, laughable and a long-lasting favorite.

A group of Rhody mamas and I got together for the Friday night Girls’ Nite Out at Trinity. It was so great to be able to see a show about women with other women. It made the night that much better, knowing our pool of hormones were a united force. I was also beyond happy that my mom came along, because I knew that if anyone could relate to a show about motherhood, it was the head honcho herself.

The poignant story of Motherhood is one of a very pregnant mom-to-be (Amy) and three of her closest girlfriends, as they celebrate Amy’s baby shower. Each of their personalities reflect their own stories of parenthood that they share with Amy. One girlfriend is a stay-at-home mom, another is a working (out-of-the-house) mom, another is a single mom and then there’s Amy–the expectant mom who reads parenting books like bibles and worries about preschool acceptance before worrying about labor. No matter the role you most closely relate to, you could find a piece of yourself in each of these characters. The too-short cargo pants with a frumpy tee shirt (I almost choked on my wine as I thought about my own Monday through Friday attire). The lack of time for yourself. The guilt of having to play “bad cop.” The hope that your child only has the best of what the world offers. The love-hate relationship reflections of raising a child. The BUYING IN BULK. It’s all there, in each woman. In ourselves.

In total HILARITY.

They riotously sang about everything from making the switch to the dreaded minivan (which I remember as it were yesterday, since I bought a lot of low-profile baseball caps that week) to the inevitable notion that you become a Costco junkie to the problems you have when you laugh and sneeze at the same time.

I can’t even tell you which scenes and songs were my favorite, because I loved ALL of them. It’s not often I say that about a show. For instance, I clearly loved the last scene of Cats, when the lights went out and the curtain went down, and most definitely loved the first scene of Christian Grey and Anabella Steele’s love affair (wait.. wrong form of art). I tolerated The Producers and really only saw Blue Man Group three times solely to listen to house music.

But, in Motherhood, I truly enjoyed every single scene. It might be the only show I’ve seen that I didn’t want to end. Not only was it hysterical, but parts were also heart-warming and emotional (read: I bawled my eyes out). If you knew me, you'd know I love to cry as much as I love to laugh. There’s something about sobbing like a small child that I enjoy. Maybe it’s because it makes me feel human. Or maybe it’s because my mother was sitting next to me, watching, squeezing my leg at the heartfelt moments, making me crumble like a child who just found out that glitter is no longer allowed in the house. Or maybe I just had too much wine.

Whatever the reason, I loved that I cried. And I loved even more that I laughed so hard.

I just LOVED this show.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you must, before it’s gone. It plays through July 1st and you can purchase tickets at www.trinityrep.com or by calling 401-351-4242.

* For a chance to win 2 tickets to the show, visit www.keekoin.com

* Jen Senecal is a mom to three girls, a writer, blogger and graphic designer. Read more on her foray into parenthood at www.keekoin.com or visit her at Rhody Mamas.