Take a tune-filled ride on the roller coaster known as motherhood. Formerly titled amother musical, this critically acclaimed new musical follows four vastly different women as they bond over the triumphs and perils of raising children. No matter what life throws their way, mothers get no sick days and no vacation days. From birth to college, they are the cheerleaders, health care providers, transportation supervisors, and therapists to our future generations. Throw in some over-the-top birthday parties, college admissions, joint custody, and even some pole dancing and you are in for one mother of a musical.
SYNOPSIS
Synopsis
Books may tell you what to expect when you’re expecting, but nothing prepares you for the nervous breakdown at the supermarket, failing in your duty as the tooth fairy, and the creepy paranoia that society is judging you as a “bad mommy.” In amother musical, four formerly capable women, who have absolutely nothing in common, meet in parenting class and bond over the common denominator of motherhood. Funny, poignant, edgy, and full of universal truths about motherhood, this is a musical comedy for every mother and anyone who’s ever had one.
Act I
In the darkness, a woman screams. Bess, Cydney, and Mare and Yvette are in stages of childbirth, post-labor, or, as is in the case of our lesbian couple, adoption proceedings. Although they are bright, accomplished women, and although they all baby-proofed their homes and prepared their pets, nothing prepared them to take home a child and raise it for the rest of their lives ("Nothing Prepared Me").
The women meet in Mommy and Me class and find that they have little in common, except for knowing their six-month-old babies are enormously "Gifted."
Bess is a Type A, middle-aged financial advisor and does motherhood with the same intensity as any job. While explaining Van Gogh to her nine-month-old at an art museum, a patron who assumes she’s the grandma approaches her ("Mid Life Mama").
On a play date in the park, Cydney and Yvette’s one-year-old kids interact in the sandbox. Yvette’s is a “bully” and Cydney’s is a “victim.” Cydney’s despondent to learn that her son’s French romper says he’s a “Pretty Girl” ("Bad Mommy").
It’s Mother's Day and both Mare and Yvette make plans to celebrate with Mare’s ailing mom. The kids are now three and extremely resourceful when it comes to opening locks or finding steak knives. Cydney’s sick with "A Hundred and Three" fever but her clueless husband can’t handle anything without her.
Mare confesses that even though it’s been four years, a day doesn’t go by that she doesn’t think of her twins’ birth mom in China. Meanwhile, Yvette is in the supermarket, mortified by her five-year-old son, who’s making a scene ("Headline Waiting to Happen").
The women, now bonded, and in a book club, drunkenly brag about their kids. All but Cydney, whose marriage is dissolving and who has discovered that her son has a learning disability ("Nothing Prepared Me (Reprise)").
It’s "A Typical Birthday Party" for a typical eight-year-old… with a petting zoo and a clown from Cirque du Soleil… except, the llama has escaped, Peter Pan is drunk, a little girl has a peanut allergy, and the birthday boy is hiding. As all hell breaks loose, the women frantically sing knowing that their kids are still young, knowing it will get easier.
Act II
The children are pre-teens and the moms are "Drowning"; overworked, overcommitted, overscheduled, and overbooked. Mare visits her pediatrician’s office, picking up a prescription for her pre-teen twins who got infections on their “vacation.” After Bess’s husband has a heart attack, she needs to return to work.
To let off steam, the mothers partake in a pole dancing class. As they gyrate, they confess their worries about who their teens are becoming ("Would We Still Like Them?"). Later, Yvette and Mare bicker about their teenaged "Monsters."
Bess, now back at work, tries to console her crying daughter on the phone, but discovers it’s not as easy as when she was a little girl ("I Can’t Heal Your Pain"). Cydney and Yvette celebrate Cydney’s divorce with manicures while they sing of the guilty pleasure of "Joint Custody." Mare’s mother dies and she realizes that she’s now "No One’s Little Girl." As the time to submit college applications approaches, the moms play "The Admissions Game."
Once the kids are in their first semester of college, our moms can’t help but mother from afar, whether it’s wanted or not! Yvette celebrates the opening of her own bakery, Cydney is pregnant and getting married again. One chapter has closed and another has begun ("Look How Far We’ve Come/Nothing Prepared Me (Reprise 2)").
QUOTE
Recommended! Wonderful with touching acuity and witty observations.
–Los Angeles Times
More Info
Characters:
Cydney – early 20s, ex‐prom queen with the youthful, optimistic energy of someone who doesn’t know what she’s in for.
Bess – mid-40s, a no‐nonsense, type A businesswoman who’s unexpectedly become a first time mother.
Mare – mid-30s, a warm, maternal rabbi and Yvette’s life partner.
Yvette – early 30s, a high‐strung, eager‐to‐please, quirky Bohemian, and Mare’s life partner.
Narrator & Everyone Else (played by one actor)
- Doctor, Mark, Agency Woman, Mr. Bruce, Art Patron, Man in Park, Supermarket Voice, Auntie Nora, Mother of the Birthday Boy, Clown, Nurse, Pole Dance Teacher, Voice of Teenaged Boy, Stu, Manicurist, Mourner, Male Cheerleader, High School Guidance Counselor, College Recruiter
Casting Note: The women age 18 years during the length of the show. They can be any ethnicity.
Setting: Multiple locations in the present
- Nothing Prepared Me
- Gifted
- Mid Life Mama
- Bad Mommy
- A Hundred and Three
- Headline Waiting to Happen
- Nothing Prepared Me (Reprise)
- A Typical Birthday Party
- Drowning
- Would We Still Like Them?
- Monsters
- I Can't Heal the Pain
- Joint Custody
- No One's Little Girl
- The Admissions Game
- Look How Far We've Come
- Nothing Prepared Me (Finale)
Billing responsibilities, pertinent copyright information, and playwrights' biographies are available in the show rider that comes with your license agreement.
“…Television scribe Elin Hampton shapes modern motherhood into something like revue-as play-date… The premise juggles Erma Bombeck-ish insights and the self-help pap that the narrator spouts at the outset. Deceptively sunny Cydney always wanted to be a mommy. Career-driven Bess got a midlife surprise. Lesbian partners Yvette and Mare adopted Chinese twins. Their common bond: anxiety, as 'Nothing Prepared Me' informs us.
Amother Musical henceforth plays hopscotch between how our culture views moms and how moms view themselves. Hampton makes witty observations amid her agreeable lyrics, and composer Sternbach responds with panache, his noteworthy melodies gracefully scored for keyboards, cello and percussion.
…The same audiences who supported Bark and Menopause will surely scamper to Amother Musical.” –Los Angeles Times
“Undoubtedly, this charmer will be picked up for a larger house.” –Backstage West
“If you are a mother, plan to be a mother, have a mother, or even know a mother, this humorously true to life variety of vignettes will knock your 'booties' off! Reminiscent of two of my all-time fave hit musicals, this one is to motherhood what Bark was to canines and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change was to relationships. Book, CLEVER lyrics, and concept by Elin Hampton and music by Gerald Sternbach. …We live, love and laugh out loud at the all-consuming many faceted journey of parenting. When four women meet in parenting classes, an emotional friendship ensures, spanning 18 years of child rearing. One is married, one is a middle-aged mom, and two are a lesbian couple with adopted kids. Their relatable stories, common bonds, challenges and laughs are a universal joy! …Don’t miss this one!” –The Tolucan Times
“Any woman who feels like a failure as a mother should go see this show to learn she is not alone. The musical romp through the lives of single mothers, lesbian mothers, others of children with learning disabilities and mid-life mothers takes a refreshingly honest look at the unglamorous world of maternity and beyond.
When four women meet in a parenting class, their bond is forged around the little people they are attempting to raise. Bess had her child later in life and is attempting to fit her new bundle of joy into a working-woman’s lifestyle. Cydney puts the needs of her family first, a habit that lands her in the middle of a divorce. Yvette and Mare are two women with a strong, loving partnership, but after they adopt twins, their nerves become increasingly frayed.
These are the mommies of Encino playwright Elin Hampton’s story and we root for them wholeheartedly as they own up to inadequacies, express frustrations, suffer losses and celebrate precious few kid-free moments.
…The musical numbers are mostly played for comedy and the laughs come easily. A song called 'A Headline Waiting to Happen' finds Yvette in the seemingly simple act of grocery shopping, a task made nearly impossible by her scampering impish child who is an expert at trying her patience… As she tries to control her son, Yvette maintains a death grip on her shipping cart and wears a forced smile that hilariously suggests a full-on mental crack-up could be in sight.
Another laugh out loud bit comes from Cydney who attempts to take a day off from motherhood to recover from a terrible cold. Though Cydney suffers from a high fever, her husband can’t stop himself from disrupting her sickbed to ascertain parenting tips…
Some breaks in the comedy come when the women rally around one of their pack who loses a loved one. The tender moments serve the show well, adding a degree of necessary depth without altering the pacing. Hampton clearly knows a thing or two about comic relief.
Composer Gerald Sternbach has assembled music that serves the show well. His arrangements give each number the appropriate mood and emotional thrust. Though the numbers all fit into one cohesive show, Sternbach’s talent is such that each piece could stand on its own.
It is a pleasure to see… a show that eschews cliché and gets down to the dirty details of an often thankless job.” –Encino Sun
“Each song tops the other!” –LA Splash.com
“This kicky new musical boasts an intoxicating sensibility all its own.” –In Magazine
Materials: Digital Materials are provided via email as downloadable PDF files for you to print in-house. All materials are yours to keep! No deposits, no returns.
Required production materials for Club Mom:
- Cast Scripts
- Vocal Books
- Director's Script
- Stage Manager's Script
- Orchestrations
- Piano/Vocal Score
Orchestrations:
- Piano
- Drums
- Cello
Production resources:
- Performance Tracks
- Reference Recording – Audio recording for reference purposes only.
- Rehearsal Tracks – Tracks for each role with the individual character played at full volume, other parts at half volume.
GALLERY
Gallery
Available Products
Club Mom
Concept, Book & Lyrics by Elin Hampton
Music by Gerald Sternbach
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