Anson Williams Directs Lee Purcell in CRAZY MAMA at Bethel Woods Next Month

Crazy Mama. A True Story of Love and Madness laced with humor and pathos, Crazy Mama is a true story adapted from Sharon Scott Williams’ award-winning memoir.  Her new one-woman show starring stage and screen star, Lee Purcell, chronicles the soul-crushing grip of her mother’s mental illness, the steely resilience of the human heart, and how, by the grace of some invisible power, Sharon’s dream to get her real Mama back comes true. Her story begins when she rushes home after school a couple of days after her eighth birthday to get the last slice of cake. Instead, she witnesses her mother having a knife-wielding psychotic break. The sheriff’s deputy says, “Your mama’s not right in the head.” He could have said, “She’s bat shit crazy!” because she was, but Sharon loved her. All through her childhood and beyond, Sharon, her father and teenage brother, Spikey hope and pray for a cure. As Mama continues to be committed to mental institutions, convinced she’s working for the FBI, her father blurs his pain with Kentucky bourbon and her brother struggles with his faith. For 46 years, Sharon lives shackled to her Mama’s pain and her own suffering. A shocking suicide attempt almost succeeds. But, in a strange twist, the miracle Sharon has been praying for comes true. In the final two weeks of her life, her real Mama comes back with clear lucidity, giving them both just enough time to heal each other’s hearts. Crazy Mama is a gripping and entertaining theatrical experience that reaches out to each member of the audience on a deeply personal level, leaving them to think about mental illness—and their own mothers--as they never have before.

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