Two mothers-in-law get stuck together in circumstances they can’t control, generating a battle of wits and witticisms. The farcical and heartbreaking uproar that ensues transforms them both.
The women are opposites in every way. Eva is a prim, judgmental rule-keeper with little self-awareness. Jean is all too self-aware. Voluptuous in style and sardonic by nature, she pushes Eva’s buttons until she explodes.
Their tale reveals roots of the power imbalances we’re still besieged with after a century of exposure. The underpinnings of #MeToo. The blaming of mothers, and mothers absorbing the blame. Rigid beliefs and their consequences. Generational wounds and the hard work of grinding their inevitability to a stop. Narcissism and gaslighting. Saving one’s life.
As raw a descent into personal devastation that Heavens! is, it can also be experienced as an allegory depicting the ego awakening into consciousness … arguably a critical first step to keeping our world from devastation.
Keywords: spirituality, religion, narcissism, domestic abuse, addiction, dark comedy, mature actresses, physical comedy, mothers, generational wounds, breaking the cycle, gaslighting, ego, higher consciousness
Heavens! received staged readings at Theatre West, LA, 1996 and Playwrights' Kitchen Ensemble, 1997.
Genre: Drama, Dark Comedy
Running Time: 90 minutes
Acts: 2
Content note: Contains potentially triggering sexual and domestic abuse, and abuse from narcissism
Cast size: 2 actors
Female Cast: 2
Casting note: Requires two actresses in their 50's and 60's capable of some physical comedy. One actress will need to learn some magic tricks.
Honourable Mention New Works of Merit, San Francisco 2023:
“Such honesty in your writing. Truly wonderful. Your characters are so likeable, so relatable, that this story is fun, and again, relatable …Good to have levity dispersed throughout the serious dialogue, which you do so beautifully… A wonderful end to the play…. This play has so much potential to be produced in an off-Broadway theatre. Your voice is needed.”
Finalist TRU Voices NYC 2023:
“Unique voices” “This is a two hander that begins like a Punch & Judy comedy with slapstick, almost cartoonish banter and physicality devolving into nastiness quickly yet turning back on itself when the two warring stereotypes, Eva and Jean, keep upping the ante until we are provoked enough to increasingly care about their stories.” “Excellent job of describing a set that can be replicated by good designers” dialogue is “trenchant, comedic, snarky, and incredibly powerful.” “It’s radical and raw. I see it in an OFF BROADWAY THEATER where more risks can be taken. I laughed and cried.”