Cracks and All by Randye Kaye at Music Theatre of CT

Cracks and All, Randye Kaye’s one-woman show, got its start in a storytelling and comedy class at MTC, taught by Lisa Lampanelli. It asks the question: “Can we be loved, even if we, and our lives, are far from perfect?” Even if our past is full of errors of judgment, dreams that fizzle, and sudden trauma? Can we love, and laugh, flaws and all?

Randye serves as news anchor/local host of All Things Considered for WSHU Public Radio, and is host of its new podcast Good At Heart. As voice over talent, she has represented companies like Dannon, Priceline, Hilton, NBC, Verizon and Estee Lauder. Her two bestselling books, Happier Made Simple and Ben Behind His Voices, are tied into her work as motivational speaker and mental health advocate - sharing lessons of resilience, connection, and humor - as well as her life as wife, mother and grandma. She was born without the gene for loving to cook, or caring where the ball goes. But you never know. She is also co-creator and host of the podcast, Schizophrenia: Three Moms in the Trenches. If you are, or know, a family touched by mental illness, please check out the National Alliance on Mental Illness, www.nami.org.

A solo show? What is it? Well - just as the name implies, it is one person, on stage, sharing a story or collections of stories - sometimes with music, or without. But not just any stories. These stories reflect the most human, vulnerable parts of us. (My Big Fat Greek Wedding began as a solo show, one actress sharing all that went on leading to her wedding and marriage. That’s one big story - that went on to be a hit movie.) Or, it can be mosaic style - a number of life stories that all contribute to a central dramatic question, like “does God exist?” or “can trauma be healed?”.