Acclaimed singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke opens her one-woman show My Mother Has 4 Noses (http://4noses.org) at The Duke on 42nd Street. The new musical play, written and performed by Brooke, and directed by Jeremy B. Cohen, has already played to sold-out houses at The Playwright's Center, Minneapolis, in August; at The Philly Fringe Fest at World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, in September; and again at the Guthrie Theater's Dowling Studio, Minneapolis, in December. Jonatha weaves 10 new songs through her experiences and stories -- the daily theatre of loving and caring for someone with dementia.
Jonatha's mother was a published poet, a clown, a Christian Scientist, and she had dementia. She also did have 4 noses, and an indomitable sense of humor. In their final two years together, Jonatha and her mother would mine the daily goings on for theatre.
"My mom was a character," says Brooke. "In fact, I used to thank her on stage for all the good material."
"'How many people do YOU know who can say they have 4 NOSES?' she'd quip almost daily... 'Boolie, (my nickname) 'that's GOOD! Are you getting this down? We should make a play out of it!' My Mother Has 4 Noses is the result."
"In her last two years, we shared every human experience on the spectrum. My only instinct? Write it, sing it, tell it. And mom was absolutely complicit. So this is our crazy love story, complicated by religion and dementia."
Jonatha Brooke has been writing songs, making records and touring since the early 90's. She's had four major label releases. In 1999, Brooke started her own independent label, Bad Dog Records, releasing six more albums. The Works, (2008) combined previously unheard, unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics with her own music and arrangements. She has written for four Disney films, has had songs included in many television shows and composed the theme song for Joss Whedon's series Dollhouse. She has recently co-written songs with Katy Perry and The Courtyard Hounds for their current releases. Brooke has three other musicals in development.
Jeremy B. Cohen is currently the producing artistic director at Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. Previously, Cohen was the associate artistic director and director of New Play Development at Hartford Stage from 2003 to 2010. Cohen is founding artistic director of Naked Eye Theatre Company in Chicago and will direct Colman Domingo's Wild With Happy at CenterStage in Baltimore, Spring 2014.
TICKETS:
https://www.dukeon42.org/Shows/2014/4Noses.aspx
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