(Disclosure) I participated in the MotherStruck! blog program as a member of the One2One Network. I received compensation, but all opinions are my own.
Recently a dear friend of mine invited me to join her to see the one-woman show MotherStruck! written and performed by poet and LBGT Activist, Staceyann Chin, directed by Cynthia Nixon and produced by Rosie O’Donnell with NYC Culture Project. Having never attended a one-woman/person show, I was unsure what to expect. The show sets forth Staceyann Chin’s personal journey to motherhood as a single woman, lesbian, and activist who does not have health insurance or a “serious, stable financial setup,” but wants to have a child. Told through Chin’s uniquely personal and poetic lens, this solo show explores how the process changed her life and how she makes peace with what she learns from this profound experience.
My first thought upon walking into the Lynn Redgrave Theater was how intimate the space was, there were absolutely no bad seats. The show began with Staceyann towards the back of the audience, she immediately captured everyone’s attention as she began to recount her journey from a young girl in Jamaica to a single, lesbian, 30-something-year-old mother living in Brooklyn, NY.
I myself am a single mother struggling to raise a child in New York City, so her story deeply resonates with me. She also managed to provide me with a newfound respect for mothers who undergo in vitro fertilization, it doesn’t seem easy at all. Sitting in the audience while 6 months pregnant, I listened to her describe the complications she went through with her own pregnancy and it made me want to jump out of my seat and hug her. Essentially us mothers go through the same pains and carry the same fears while trying to bring our children into this world healthy and safe, regardless of our walk of life. Despite all of our differences, we are all human, we are all mothers and we all yearn to do what’s best for our children.
Staceyann’s story is so necessary for today’s society where so many women feel they don’t have the choice to do as they please with their own bodies or they feel the need to follow society’s rules. MotherStruck! is a must-see, Staceyann is captivating, humorous, poetic and exciting. One moment she will make you laugh and in the next moment make you tear up. I truly enjoyed the show and I look forward to reading her memoir, ‘The Other Side of Paradise‘, and attending any future performances she may have.
Here is what Cynthia Nixon had to say about MotherStruck! and her enthusiasm to work with Staceyann, “I had been a fan of Staceyann Chin’s since I saw her on Broadway in Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam in 2001 and was knocked out by her incredible facility with the spoken word form and her fantastically ferocious persona. Our paths had crossed casually a number of times since then. I was lucky enough to bump into her in 2009 just as her memoir The Other Side of Paradise was coming out and thank God she handed me a copy. I promptly devoured it and sent her an ecstatic e-mail. When she approached me last year about directing MotherStruck! I read it and said yes within a matter of hours. As when I read her memoir, I was stunned by Staceyann’s ability to recall in such depth biographical details of her life, both recent and long ago. She is leading a remarkable life that is fascinating to hear about because of the many seemingly insurmountable obstacles she has overcome, but it is also fascinating because of the way in which she chooses to tell you about it – the humor, the drama, the poetry, the political backdrop, the jaw-dropping specificity – that compels you to listen as long as she is speaking. Staceyann is a national treasure, and I’m so proud and excited to be part of the telling of this most precious chapter in her life.”
For now, you will have to catch Staceyann’s performance, Motherstruck! at the Lynn Redgrave Theater at 45 Bleecker Street in New York City, which opens Monday, December 14. Thanks to One2One Network, you can get tickets 20% off by visiting this link and selecting “Blissful Media Group”.
I am participating in a One2One Influencer campaign for the MotherStruck brand. I received a ticket in preparation for posting; however, the opinions expressed in this post are my own. I am in no way affiliated with MatherStruck and do not earn a commission or percent of sales.
What do you think?