Reviews by Tracey Paleo, Gia On The Move
A tiny female voice is screaming in the kitchen and won’t finish her lunch! No one’s getting dressed to go out. There’s only 40 minutes of TV time allowed in the house per day and it’s imperative that every minute count. You’re stressed. You’re starving. You’re lonely for adult company. You need a SNACK!
Megan Dolan soothes our need for story while soothing her need for a food break in a fast-moving compactly edited epic about growing up in a divorced home.
A 70’s, Brady Bunch influenced kid, Megan takes us through her developing food for love habit as her parents split, mom takes off to find herself, and she and her brother who now live solely with their not-so-there father, are left to figure out the separation practically on their own.
It’s not that Dad doesn’t care in between dating and marrying a new woman who curiously looks like her mother, or mom’s too selfish to notice as she drags them to self-empowerment cult meetings, and that she must suddenly contend with new teenaged step sisters, but like most kids she and her brother just don’t or are not given an opportunity to speak up. Consequently, they are both pushed along their lives like feathers in a wind storm, wondering when they’ll safely land.
There are perks to coming home to an empty house after school. Dad buys whole milk and is more than willing to provide her with her favorite desserts. The discovery and fantasy of favorite foods and flavors are the bulwark that seems to provide the sustenance she craves. Ultimately, though, nothing can make up for what she really needs, her mom.
It can’t get any more real than this. Megan Dolan is a powerhouse storyteller, a veritable “Desperate Housewife” coming to terms with own fears and anxieties in the most practical and careful ways, through vivid, lively writing that strikes a beautiful, emotional balance between past and present.
Written and Performed by Megan Dolan. Directed by Chris Game.
Highly Recommended
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