Things My Mother Taught Me by Katherine DiSavino Presented by the Troy Civic Theater

This evening and Saturday evening are the Troy Civic Theatre's last two performances of Things My Mother Taught Me by Katherine DiSavino.  

The director is Steve Dietrich.   Beth Shrake is his stage manager and assistant director.  

This is a perfect play for Mothers Day. The comedy revolves around the intentional and unintentional conflicts that arise when people care about one another.  Everyone will recognize the craziness that arises.  Maybe you haven't had exactly the same experience in your life but you have had a similar one.

As you can see from the smiling faces, the crew and cast had fun preparing this play for your enjoyment.

The play takes place in a newly acquired apartment.

Olivia and Gabe have decided after a long relationship to move in together.  Rachel Smith is Olivia and Gage Emerson is Gabe.

Moving in is difficult when furniture doesn't fit through the doorway!  But that turns out to be the least of the happy couple's problems.

Gabe's parents, Lydia played by Sonja Hyer and Wyatt played by Mike Maxson turn up to help.  They have made a long trip from New York City to Chicago just to bring their helping hands.  In return, they plan to spend the night in the apartment's second bedroom.

A bit later, guess who arrives?  Olivia's parents, Carter and Karen,  Carter (Michael Robinson) and Karen (Niccole SueAnn Wallace) tumble in.  Remember that chair in the doorway?  And, of course, they are planning to stay in the second bedroom.

The mothers have lots of last minute advice to give the couple.  The fathers do, too.  The young couple's take on the advice plus the things they remember from childhood bring constant chuckles from the audience.

To add a little spice to the mix, the building caretaker shows up periodically. Max, played by Paul Robinson, is curious about the new renters and their visitors.  He has helpful and not so helpful suggestions.

The problems escalate and so does the laughter from the audience.  However, since this is a romantic comedy, all ends well, maybe even better than anyone expected.

To me, a little extra that made me smile was this poster in the lobby.  Playgoers were invited to post words of advice from their own mothers.

This is a perfect play to take your mother to.  It will have all of you remembering your own mother's words of advice.  Your mother will have memories of the reasons for those words of advice and what prompted them that will open your eyes to the uniqueness and preciousness of your own family.

To reserve seats, contact the Troy Civic Theatre by phone --  937-339-7700.