06 May 2009 So, you think your family is crazy…

Oy vey or should that be mamma mia? Start the early winter on a side-splitting note with the New York comedy hit My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish, and I’m in Therapy!, which opens on 12 May 2009 at the NewSpace 1 Theatre on 44 Long Street.

Created onstage in the Big Apple by comedian Steve Solomon, the uproariously funny one-man play tells the story of an Italian-Jewish family and the crazy characters that surround, and drives our hapless hero straight into the therapist’s chair. This hilarious comedy stars versatile and accomplished local actor Michael Richard, who will have his work cut out for him as he navigates through a tricky minefield of voices, dialects and sound effects, conjuring an array of wacky family relationships.

Richard will be directed by the multi award-winning Charmaine Weir-Smith, with whom he recently teamed up for two successful seasons of the Sylvaine Strike comedy Pregnant Pause. The top production team is completed by Stan Knight, who will undertake the set design, and Jane Gosnell, who has designed the lighting. My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish, and I’m in Therapy! won the Broadway.com audience award for favourite new off-Broadway play of 2007, and has consistently earned rave reviews. You don’t need to be Jewish or Italian to appreciate this off-the-wall comedy but just need to know what it feels like to leave a family dinner with heartburn and a headache.

Described as “one part lasagne, one part kreplach and two parts Prozac”, this play promises to be just the tonic everyone needs. Book for this one-man tour de force that is produced in South Africa by Afro Asia Events, via Computicket or 083 915 8000. Shows run until 7 June, from Mondays to Fridays at 8pm and on Saturdays at 5pm and 8pm. Tickets cost R135 each or two for the price on Mondays.  www.italianjewishtherapy.co.za.