Reviews

Anne Marie is a one-woman show phenomenon. As a Second City alumna, for years she has written and performed in seven very amusing, smart and sold-out one woman shows throughout Canada and the United States. Her most recent show, premiering at the best little show house in Toronto, the Red Sandcastle Theatre in Leslieville, “MILF Life Crisis” is definitely her sharpest, funniest and most moving show. Anne Marie’s writing and acting hit really close to home. Literally. We learn from the play’s theatre notes, that this play is based on Anne Marie’s own life, which is in the midst of divorce, co-parenting issues and crazy, sexy single mom dating.

As a result, the jokes and dead-on observations come from some very dark, funny and sad places. The best and richest type of humour.

I was most impressed with Anne Marie’s craft as an actress. Throughout the play, Anne Marie, through mere inflections of tone and subtle mannerisms, naturally transforms from innocent loving wife and mother, to sad and sex-starved single mom, to hot, drunk, Tinder MILF (hot mothers we love to Facebook) and then to wiser liberated lover and ex-wife.

Anne Marie also brilliantly plays her chorus of supportive friends — Nympho Kendra, who solves her single divorced status with multiple lovers, and Sappho Terry, her very wise, no-BS and drop-dead funny lesbian friend. Anne Marie’s portrayal of Nympho Kendra was double and triple bang on.

The one hour show flies by. I was in an audience of 40 women and 5 guys. We all laughed our asses off throughout.

The Red Sandcastle is a perfect venue for Anne Marie’s show. As we all are literally up close and personal with Anne Marie as she comically, movingly and sexily unravels and exposes her life, under a symbolic disco ball, before our very eyes.

This is a show for all single and married women and the men who want to Tinder, Facebook or love them.

I strongly urge you to catch this show, while it’s still in Toronto.

Many new mothers often lament they did not know exactly what they were getting themselves into.

To be fair, no one ever tells them the whole story… until now.

Suddenly Mommy!, a one-woman show written by and starring Anne Marie Scheffler, puts early motherhood on display — in all its unglamorous glory. The production, perhaps best described as a witty combination of sketch and stand-up comedy, is an absolute riot, with one hilarious line after another.

While it’s unclear exactly how much of the show is autobiographical, it’s obvious Scheffler relies on her own life experiences as an actress and mother to accurately relay the seemingly unending trail of guilt that can follow a typical mom each day, from her questionable nutritional choices to poor bedtime routines.

A Second City alumna with many film and television credits to her name, Scheffler provides an authentic and endearing performance from start to finish, eliciting sympathetic howls of familiarity from audience members.

Suddenly Mommy’s target demographic is obvious, but one doesn’t have to be a mother — or even a woman for that matter — to enjoy the jokes. The play does include some vulgar lines, as no topic is off limits for Scheffler, including the impact motherhood can have on a woman’s body and her sex life. Yet those scenes are also among the play’s best.

Much like a favourite movie, audiences could likely see Suddenly Mommy! multiple times and still uncover comedic gems with each viewing.

The script, which Scheffler seems to adapt to suit each performance, is fantastic (some local references are included here, as she grew up within minutes of the theatre). She really takes advantage of basically a non-existent set, a few props, a bit of music and a few lighting changes, to paint a particular scene or portray characters.

Many people cringe when they hear about single-player productions, but Scheffler erases all such concerns within minutes. And she expertly relays the hilarity in the negative aspects of motherhood, without overshadowing the joys of the experience. Indeed, despite all the blunders, surprises and disasters along the way, one gets the impression that Scheffler, like countless other mothers, wouldn’t change anything.

Suddenly Mommy! is the funniest Theatre Orangeville production of the last decade.

It’s laugh-out-loud funny. It’s good, not-so-clean fun. And it’s a fabulous way for parents — mothers in particular — to escape the mundane routines of parenthood, if only for a few hours.