≡ Family Secrets
Written and performed by Sherry Glaser
Produced by Theater J
Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson
Sherry Glaser as Mort
Family Secrets at Theater J introduces us to the kooky Fisher family sharing poignant moments in their lives. In this one woman tour-de-force, Sherry Glaser takes on the walk, talk, accoutrement and mannerisms of the proverbial father Mort, clinically depressed mother Bev, hippie daughter Fern renamed Kahari, teenager from hell Sandra, and a liberated Grandma Rose. Glaser’s portrayals seem effortless as she embodies and inhabits the various characters with realism and love. Each has his/her own sense of presence and movement, and Glaser has them all down pat, as evidenced by their various approaches to sitting in the big salmon colored overstuffed armchair centerstage (set adapted for Theater J by Thomas Howley.) At rise, the father sits dressed in a three-piece pin-striped suit, including an old fashioned link chained pocket watch (vintage 1980’s), talking, actually, doing more listening on the telephone. From the character’s first moments, with his repeated monosyllabic responses, "Uh huh…uh huh" maybe eight times, in a style used throughout the entire montage, Glaser relays a sense of functioning in real time– no editing, no condensing to make anything more convenient, palatable, nothing is scrubbed. If Papa needs to pick something out of his nose, so be it. There’s nothing pretentious about any of the characters, and while that might make them exasperating, it also adds an endearing, real world quality to them. That’s probably what contributed to the play’s success as the longest running one-woman off-Broadway performance—the "that’s my neighbor or family member" instant recognition, or maybe even, "hey, that’s me." She’s that honest. (more…)
A talk with Director Timothy Douglas 
