Review: Motherhood the Musical

The Athenaeum Theatre was buzzing with women’s voices on the night I attended Motherhood: The Musical. Mothers with daughters, granddaughters with their nans, sisters, aunties… every female combination one can imagine was in attendance on this evening (I was there with my seven year old daughter).

‘I’m Having a Baby’, a saccharine-sweet song about… well, having a baby, opened the show; with it I let out a little sigh, accompanied by a quick scan of my surroundings, and a plan to escape the theatre, out of fear that the rest of the show was going to be this ‘sappy.’

A grand total of 15 seconds later I realised that I was so, so wrong, and that this song was only an illustration of the state of mind of Amy (Rebecca Moore), a first time 20-something mummy to be. My ‘I can relate to that’ radar switched on immediately, I found my focus drawn only to the stage, and all plans of escape evaporated away into thin air.

Motherhood: The Musical is the creative fruit of Sue Fabisch, an award winning songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee, who is herself a mother of three.

Sue first gained notoriety due to her parody of the song ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’, ‘The MOM of Constant Sorrow’, which she penned in 2002. The song received so much notice and airtime on the Great American Country video network, that Sue decided to open Mommy Music Inc. in 2004, through which she launched her debut compilation of songs,

Before she knew it, Fabisch had over 40 songs about motherhood under her belt, which enabled her to go on a one-woman tour around the country. Eventually she divided the songs between four performers and Motherhood: The Musical blossomed into what it is now… a hilarious, extremely well performed ray of sunshine for mothers of all ages who experience the show as a sort of therapy-through-laughter. I know I did.

Before one gets the idea that the performance can only be appreciated by females, I must stress that the theatre was at least one third males, and they laughed as heartily as did all the mothers in the audience, without any ‘pinching persuasion’ from their accompanying partners.

The song ‘I’m Having a Baby’ introduced the audience to the bliss and wide-eyed naïveté of a mother-to-be. Three more characters were then brought in; all at different stages of and with contrasting experiences of motherhood.

Barbara (Amelia Christo) is the overworked and stressed mother, who sings the ‘Mommy, mommy, mommy’ piece with such gusto and energy that it’s easy to imagine her being attacked from all sides by her demanding offspring, interrupting and squabbling about anything and everything.

Trisha (Jacqueline Hoy), the single mother who duels with her ex-husband, juggles after school sports, music lessons etc, and lusts for a ‘Minivan’, with her animated song and interesting accompanying hip swinging dance (cleverly choreographed by Sue-Ellen Shook).

Brooke (Ziggy Clements) orchestrates family and career seamlessly… or so it appears; but she too faces self doubts and challenges like her friends. Brooke even has a bit of a fantasy of becoming a queen of Costco, which she expresses through the song ‘Costco Queen’ and a synchronized shopping cart ballet.

Motherhood: The Musical is quirky and fun, and though it is meant to be as such, it is also peppered with a couple of numbers which are sure to tug at the audience’s heartstrings as well, by featuring other sides to being a mother… the nice, warm and fuzzy side which we sometimes forget, due to the sleeplessness and stress we experience on a daily basis.

If you are a mother or have a mother, this show is a hoot to watch; young and old, all can relate to it.

This review was written Gordana Andjelic-Davila | Tuesday February 22, 2011 for ArtsHub.com.au. Click here to read it in its original form.