About The Show Suddenly Mommy and The Creator Anne Marie Scheffler
“Have I learned nothing from dating badly?” asks Anne Marie Scheffler, star and creator of Suddenly Mommy. “I lose myself to my sons, in the same way I was vampire food for those charismatic, commitment-phobe boyfriends I used to date.”
Anne Marie Scheffler is pretty charismatic herself. Born into a Polish- Catholic family of six, Anne Marie was always larger than life. In all the plays in high school, a cheerleader and school president, she graduated from Alliston's Banting Memorial High School and hit her career running when she moved to Toronto. TV series, films, commercials, theatre and Second City later, she quickly became known for her hilarious one woman shows which took her across Canada and the US.
Scheffler’s star was rising when CTV and The Comedy Network gave her a one hour comedy special based on her live show Not Getting It. She spoke for the women of her generation when she shone the light on being single but having needs. As CTV, the Canadian broadcaster, was preparing to build a TV series around her, she pressed the pause button to have kids.
“When opportunity knocks, I like to open the door a crack and say- “can you give me a minute?”” A single dad swept her off her feet, and they got pregnant and married in that order. So Anne Marie threw herself into her new family. But dropping who you really are can’t last for long. “I could never stay in a relationship with a guy for longer than two years. You know I’d turn into what I thought he wanted me to be. If he liked Star Trek, so did I. If he went for a run every morning, I bought running shoes… and always went for a run every morning… actually that was pretty good for me. But after two years, the real me always emerges.” But can a mom can be her real self, too? Can't she?
Ironically, it was when her youngest son was two years old, when Anne Marie snapped. “I remember being in the kitchen, doing the daily drudge, the kids were playing in the living room, and Pink’s Just Like A Pill came on the radio. I just transformed. I started singing and dancing like a maniac. I knew there was a part of me- the part that was about to get a TV series- that was dying to get out.” So she wrote Suddenly Mommy.
Anne Marie struck the vein of gold with her play and comedy special Not Getting It, asking is it okay for women to have sex like men, without love? A master of wanting two opposing goals at the same time, Anne Marie struck gold again with Suddenly Mommy. Working with SNL vet Rosie Shuster on the script, Anne Marie gives her mommy show a refreshing twist. “If all I’ve done my whole life is lose myself to men, of course I would do that with my babies. It’s not that I’m a mom now, and all of a sudden I understand how to say no, how to have boundaries, and how to love without completely disappearing.” As many of her audiences agree, parenting is overwhelming.
And Suddenly Mommy brings release. “I believe in having an arc in my comedy. In a very Joseph Cambellian way. In Not Getting It, Anne Marie learns to love herself first. In Suddenly Mommy, Anne Marie learns to find her backbone and be the centre of the family.
“No one tells you that motherhood is like a hero’s journey. You enter the extraordinary world. And it’s unfamiliar. You have to fight, grow, learn, battle. You return with the elixir of Put Yourself First. Or the mommy, the wife, is just a sad shell of her formal self. And guess what? No one wants that.”
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This hilarious one-woman show takes us through every mom’s experience of good times, bad advice, and trying to do it all. From hot dates to play dates, experience the rollicking rollercoaster of motherhood. Because no matter how you planned it… it always comes suddenly!
"Anne Marie Scheffler didn't think motherhood would be this hard. She thought she could be the sexy show biz mom with a baby in one arm, and a movie script in the other. Her jarring realization otherwise makes for a humourous and entertaining show!" - CBC Radio
"Such a great show tonight!!! You are so talented! I could relate to it all! Wow. You nailed motherhood!" -Gillian
“The writing and delivery is perfect. The words are beautiful and honest: Scheffler isn’t fearful in sharing her life and doesn’t hesitant with personal details.” - Orangevile Banner review
“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.” - The Wellington Advertiser
“Just saw you yesterday at Orangeville Theatre in Suddenly Mommy. I am a subscriber for many years always enjoy the plays but just wanted to tell you I've never seen a better play! You are absolutely fantastic! I can't imagine how you can possibly do what you do but was so great can't stop thinking about it! Just wanted to let you know, thanks so much xo” - Suddenly Mommy audience member
“Hi Anne Marie, I saw you yesterday (March 6) at Theatre Orangeville. I've seen a lot of plays there and in Toronto and I have to tell you, this was one of the best I've ever seen anywhere. It was fantastic and you were amazing and I really wanted to let you know that. Thank you so much.” - Suddenly Mommy audience member