www.symphonyhall.com
February 2-5, 2012
By R.E. Smith
As the busy mother of three kids, Karen Morgan knows what a hassle it can be finding child care, so she wants to assure the audience that “Parent’s Night Out” is “baby-sitter worthy”. Partnered with fellow comedian Jim Colliton, also a parent of three, Karen says the goal of the show is “to make people laugh with the realization that they are not alone. It’s nice to be reminded that everyone’s going through the same things.”
The show that Morgan conceived uses stand-up comedy, improv, and audience participation to explore the wild ride that is raising kids. Morgan points out that “even our own parents can’t prepare us for what we face as parents,” and the show has some fun with the relationship that adults have with their own parents.
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| Karen Morgan & Jim Colliton |
Morgan has been at CityStage before, with her show “Momma’s Night Out.” That project grew out of acquaintances she made appearing on Nickelodeon’s “Search for the Funniest Mom in America.” The difference with “Parent’s” is that it explores parenting from “both sides, male and female. A lot of what we talk about overlaps, but it is nice to have the Dad’s perspective. Jim came highly recommended and has really strong comedy skills.”
The tag line for the play points out that the two are happily married, “just not to each other.” Audiences often hear new bits before the real spouses do. “My husband had a vasectomy on Wednesday and I was joking about it on the radio Thursday morning. People were coming up to him on the street and congratulating him.” Morgan explains.
She feels that the show has longevity because “the material just gets richer the older our kids get.”
