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The Bump and the Road

by Amanda Bedgood

Cabaret tackles pregnancy and beyond.

The road to motherhood is paved with good intentions. Intentions that, if those carrying that precious bundle of joy are honest, are enough to feel like labor sans epidural at times. And then when the baby arrives? Well, you know the routine - the most beautiful and sleep-depriving moments of life ensue. Moments that are nothing like the books and advice that paved the way here. Two local moms are putting all that is pregnancy and new motherhood onto the stage in The Bumpy Road: After Birth.

The cabaret was sold out in early spring but put on hold after one of the two stars went into labor. On opening night. No joke.

Now, Allison Brandon has a 5-month-old and is ready to take to the stage with fellow mom Sarah Roy for an evening that's all about babies but geared for the grown-ups.

Brandon says she had finished a cabaret conference at Yale and was very ready to write a cabaret show when she learned a baby was on the way. She knew Roy was pregnant too, and the idea was born.

"OK, this might be crazy. Want to write a show about pregnancy?" Brandon recalls asking Roy.

She says great comedic moments come on the heels of all that unwanted advice that comes as the bump grows. And while there is much anticipation and even anxiety surrounding pregnancy, birth and motherhood, Brandon always has been the one to laugh, to look on the bright side.

"I try to keep spirits high. And I have a great baby. She's so fun and I'm lucky," Brandon says of little Adelaide. "In the end when you have that child you feel like you're home."

Without spoiling the ending, Brandon says the work delivers a message that many mothers either learned along this never-ending balancing act or really should learn: "Don't lose yourself and do what you love to do and be a mom at the same time."

The Bumpy Road: After Birth is a musical journey through pregnancy and beyond. If you've been pregnant, are pregnant, been around a pregnant person or never want to be pregnant, their stories are sure to make you bust a gut (pun intended).

SHOWTIMES

Tickets are $15, and the cabaret is slated for Theatre 810 Downtown Sept. 5-7 and Sept. 12-14.

PERFORMANCES:

Friday, 9/5 at 9 p.m.

Saturday, 9/6 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, 9/7 at 3 p.m.

Friday, 9/12 at 9 p.m.

Saturday, 9/13 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, 9/14 at 3 p.m.