One of my Blog inspiration books, Everything
I Learned about FAMILY I Learned From a Little Golden Book reminds
us that, “Family life is made of moments, big and small, moments that bind us
over time…times that give us a sense of belonging”. The play The Humans is about the dynamics of a middle class family that gather for
Thanksgiving dinner. Brigid Blake invites her parents, sister and grandmother ”Momo”
from Scranton PA, to join her and her boyfriend in New York City’s
Chinatown.
When families come together during the holidays there is usually
laughter and some serious drama at the table. I was excited to see how this
Irish Catholic family compared to my Italian Catholic family as they gathered
together for the holidays.
Reflection
The Humans
reminds us of our own real life drama that occurs when we get our family together.
As I watched the play I remembered many
of my own past Italian family Thanksgiving meals where we argued about so many
things but in these memories, I loved so many things! That is what families do
we fight, love, and laugh.
 |
| Mom (Deirdre Blake) and Boyfriend (Arash Mokhar) |
Brigid
Blake (Valeri Mudek) entertains Thanksgiving
with her mother (Deirdre Blake),father (J.Tucker Smith), sister (Courtney Balan)
and grandmother, Momo (Ceclia Riddett) in her NYC apartment. Her boyfriend (Arash Mokhtar)
gets to experience them all and the continued jabs about getting married.
I laughed
as I related to Ms. Blake when she attempted
to place the Virgin Mary statute in her daughter's apartment for protection. Like Brigid, I have a similar statue given to me by my mother
that is hidden in the basement on a bookshelf.
This
family, like so many, struggled with a love/hate relationship as they cared for
Momo who had dementia. I teared up along with many in the audience, when the Blakes
shared around the table their feelings of thankfulness. They tried to
give Momo a voice by reading the last letter given to her family before her mind
failed. What a tear jerkier moment.
We are
all human with our own shortcomings and with good and bad life experiences. This well acted
drama with a mixture of humor, helped us
to remember this. As the Dad said, “it is times like these that we have our family that we can always come
home to”.
Enjoy your family during this season and catch the Humans which reminds us of our past and to enjoy our experiences together when we come home for the holidays.
Enjoy your family during this season and catch the Humans which reminds us of our past and to enjoy our experiences together when we come home for the holidays.
(The Humans runs November 9 through December 10, 2017 at the
O’Reilly Theater. For tickets go to trustarts.org)
Listen, my son, to your father's instructions and do not forsake your mother's teaching. (Proverbs 1:8)