March 2, 2022
By Tammye McDuff
‘My Name is Mommy’ celebrates the exhilaration of motherhood, balancing rites of passages with amusing detours into the modern realities of raising children. April Wish moves forward and backward through time, exploring the pressures and the promises of parenthood. And for this weekend Friday March 4 to Sunday March 6, which happens to be Mimosa Matinee for Moms, all teachers, educators and school employees, will receive free theater tickets.
The Tolucan Times calls this play “A moving, dynamic examination of motherhood past and present… Raw, honest and often hilarious… Full of emotion and power…”
April Wish has a way of telling her own particular story in such a way that feels bold, fresh and new. She is brutally honest but also sweetly and intensely lovable. Wish writes so beautifully that you will be laughing and crying and empathizing and shocked all in the same breath. Her candor and her joyous abandon are intoxicating, one of the funniest, touching, unique, and riveting new performances of the season.
Written and performed by April Wish, and directed and developed by Jessica Lynn Johnson, ‘My Name is Mommy’ studies a matriarchal family’s traditions, exploring the connection between generations through Wish’s lens as both a mother and a daughter. The show follows her journey as she looks for the bits and pieces of herself she left behind when she stepped into her role as Mother buried under mountains of toys and traditions.
In this dynamic and often hilarious piece, Wish has crafted a love letter to her daughter, as well as to the little girl she used to be herself.
“The overall impression was Wow! I thought it was phenomenal and fearless,” stated a member of the first audience. It is one thing to tell a one-woman story, but it is another to live through the stages of love, grief, and issues that face every woman.
All mothers should see this show. We all know what it is like to lose ourselves, feeling like you don’t know what you’re doing or if you are doing right or what scars and issues you may leave on your children. All the while knowing you are doing the absolute best that you can.
The La Habra Depot Theater is located at 311 South Euclid St, La Habra, for more information and tickets visit thephantomprojectstheatre.com