Mama's Night Out

CityStage, Springfield
through January 25, 2009
Donna Bailey-Thompson

Three certifyingly funny comediennes who got to where they are – first-class professionals – by honing their craft, perform their "Mama’s Night Out" for predominantly women, but as long as men are as comfortable as women about laughing at themselves, their material is any-gender friendly.

Karen Morgan, a transplanted Georgian who lives in Maine, opened the show with a burst of amusing stories about her three young children’s speaking idiosyncrasies: because their sentences include words and phrases that embrace both their mother’s Southern and father’s Down East accents, Morgan said, "They’re bilingual." She tossed in cracks about Southern cooking: "There are four food groups – sugar, salt, fat and alcohol." As for skinny women who are a size 0, she quipped, "If you’re not big enough to have a number, don’t leave home. Eat a sandwich!."

During the next half hour, Nancy Witter kept the laughs coming. The audience learned that she’s 50, enjoys a drink, and recently married a man who is 60. She spoke of her mother who drank vodka, even when nursing, and consequently, "I had my first White Russian when I was four hours old." She blames her battle with the bulge on having an "insatiable appetite, slow metabolism, and yeast infection." As for anyone who wears a size 2, she said, "I could cook you, eat you, and still be hungry."

Sherry Davey’s comedy was the edgiest. She skewered the overuse of prescription medicine for children: "...dispensing Benadryl for hay fever in February?" She referenced the Inauguration and poked fun at President Obama’s dancing style. Her rift about the stereotypical foibles of husbands had the women in hysterics. "I look forward to being a widow: the thank you cards are already written." Following her set, all three women took the stage, swapping banter and jokes. Nancy Witter said, "An Irishman walks out of a bar. Well, it could happen!"

These three mamas met when they competed in Nick at Nite’s Search for America’s Funniest Mom and became finalists, beating out over 1000 hopefuls. They’re worthy of a return booking at CityStage.