Laughter, Loss, and a Fight Song Light Up the Purple Rose Stage

My Mother and the Michigan/Ohio War delivers hilarious family drama with heart, touchdowns of emotion, and a play-ending you’ll never forget.

Photo: (L-R) Caitlin Cavannaugh, Teri Clark Linden, Dez Walker. Photo by Sean Clark Photography

Playwright Paul Stroili has penned a masterpiece in the Purple Rose Theatre Company’s latest production of My Mother and the Michigan/Ohio War, also known as the “Toledo War.”  In the Michigan/Ohio War, Stroili beautifully combines belly-laughing humor with some very poignant moments.

In the director’s notes in the program, Stroili wrote: “Our lives are plays. We begin with our initial cast of characters, our family – and as we grow and get older, the cast changes. People in our lives increase or decrease the size of their roles in our particular play through their actions, behavior, proximity, or sadly, an early exit – stage left. But the essential roles always go to family. They are the original cast, so to speak. For better or worse. As I’ve heard it said, of course your family pushes your buttons. They know where they are. They installed them.”

Following the death of her husband, Isabelle (Izzy) Campbell, played brilliantly by Teri Clark Linden, is trying to figure out what comes next in her life. Izzy engages directly with the audience throughout the play, a technique that Director Susan Angelo uses expertly. Izzy’s conversation with the audience reminds everyone of conversations that they have had with themselves.

Trying to assist Izzy with her life transitions are her two adult children, Carey Campbell (played by Hope Shangle or Caitlin Cavannaugh) and her adopted son Josh Campbell (played by Dez Walker). The dynamics between Izzy and her children seem all too familiar. Characterized by laughter and tension, the death of a family member brings out the best and worst in the family. Competitiveness, jealousy and hidden resentments are revealed in the dialogue.

Stroili has found humanity in the Michigan/Ohio War.  The familial conflicts are wrapped in humor but the human message is never lost. Izzy, at one point, while standing alone on the set, asserts:  “The job of a parent is to fail. And the job of a kid is to disappoint. If you can love after that, you’ve got a family.”

And as the family struggles to reconcile their differences, laid bare by their shared loss, Director Angelo brings out the best in each actor as they begin to see one another in an entirely different way. Izzy has a meltdown with her children, talking about how she sacrificed herself to keep the children engaged in something their father loved. But in doing that, she lost a part of herself. Then Stroili gave Izzy one of the best lines in the play. Izzy, when looking at no one in particular, said, “The best part of a dream is the dreaming.”

My Mother and the Michigan/Ohio War will keep you laughing. Laughing a lot, and out loud. But it will also keep you thinking about how people do the best they can, under whatever circumstances life may throw at them. The set is simple, full of UM memorabilia. There are digs at the Buckeyes. And you hear the UM Fight Song. The ending is priceless. Choreographer Rhiannon Ragland created an ending for the ages.

My Mother and the Michigan/Ohio War runs now through May 25^th. Tickets for all performances are limited, so you are encouraged to get your tickets now. Show times are Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Friday & Saturday 8 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday 3 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

This reviewer gives Stroili two thumbs up. And if I had ten thumbs, I’d give him ten thumbs up. It is 90 minutes of pure fun.