ACCOLADES & REVIEWS
Written, produced & performed by DOREEN OLIVER
Directed by
JANEECE FREEMAN CLARK
United Solo Festival
– WINNER, United Solo & Backstage Audience Award
– Sold out entire run
New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC)
– Broke record for fastest sell-out of run in festival’s 20-year history
– Designated FringeFAVE, run extended
“Riveting….While one might expect a story about motherhood and the challenges of autism to be overly sentimental and preachy, this production is rather an honest, heartfelt tale about family, love, and motherhood that anyone might relate to.”
– Theatre Is Easy (Best of Fringe NYC 2016)
“Fearless….Oliver takes the audience through a myriad of emotions and at times you completely forget that there is only one woman on that stage.”
– NBCNews.com
“Oliver singlehandedly brings to life nail-biting dramatic and tense domestic moments…. The show tells a touching story with humor, at times bursting with the hard-hitting nature of reality.”
– The New York Amsterdam News
INDUSTRY & AUDIENCE PRAISE
“Everything Is Fine Until It’s Not left me breathless. Doreen Oliver’s eloquence as a writer is matched by her power as a performer.”
– Brian Kates, Emmy-winning editor
“Beautiful, valuable work…spoke incisively about a more universal truth of parenting, and of mothering in particular: you can never know that you are actually doing everything right! Very moving, insightful and lasting. “
– Carson Gleberman, Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, Bright Star and The Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
“Ms. Oliver can sing and move and dance as well as she writes. She peopled the stage with lovable souls. This is a masterfully performed tale of home, family, special challenges and rewards, exhaustion, and the limits to which we’ll go for those we love.”
– Madge McKeithen, Author & Assistant Professor, Creative Writing, The New School
“One of the most phenomenal and real portrait[s] of my life as a mother of a child living with autism through the eyes of an amazing woman….Her brilliant performance had me crying, laughing, shaking my head and saying ‘I heard that!’ too….A definite must see for all.”
– Nadine Wright-Arbubakrr, founder of Nassan’s Place, an organization for families with children with autism in NJ
“It might be sold out now but if you can still get a ticket, man, do it. And if you miss it, keep an eye out for whatever Doreen Oliver does next.”
– Pamela Erens, author of Eleven Hours and The Virgins
“Beautifully and soulfully written, expertly performed, and did for me exactly what brilliant theater is supposed to do, which is reflect the human experience and illuminate aspects of our own lives that we may not have examined in quite the same way before.”
– TK Baltimore, parent and New York-based arts philanthropist
“Doreen Oliver gives a touching, radiant performance. Her story connects with all of us who have struggled to find our footing while dodging life’s curveballs. A wonderful evening at the theater!”
– Liz Jones, Founding Director, Page 73 Productions
“I was moved by how powerful [the] performance was…..funny, sweet, painful and honest.”
– Yoojin Grace Wuertz, author of Everything Belongs To Us
“This show was a majestic artistic triumph….Love this work! And Doreen Oliver! Thank you for writing and performing it.”
– Essayist/author Marie Myung-Oak Lee, co-founder of the Asian American Writers Workshop and mother of child with autism
“Phenomenal, heart-wrenching and life-affirming. Doreen’s performance stays with you long after the curtain wraps.”
– Alicia Quarles, entertainment journalist and TV personality
“I’ve always loved Doreen’s writing. After seeing her in Everything Is Fine Until It’s Not I am in complete awe! She made me laugh and cry. As an autism mom, I totally felt her words and I am inspired by her strength.”
– Award-winning blogger and former Parents columnist, Lisa Quinones, atypicalfamilia.com and autismwonderland.com
“A beautiful, profound, amazing one-woman show that blew me away!”
– New York Times bestselling author Susan Shapiro, author of Unhooked & What’s Never Said
SYNOPSIS
EVERYTHING IS FINE UNTIL IT’S NOT is a humorous, musical, & gripping one-woman show that explores the relationship between mothers and their children, and the ability to accept those you love, even if they’re not who you expected.
Doreen is a workaholic film producer whose life goes off-script after her son is diagnosed with autism. As she tries everything the experts advise to help her young son become more “normal,” she seeks strength from her mother and aunts, a funny, irrepressible crew of old-school African-American matriarchs born and raised in Newark, NJ. Doreen abandons her career and focuses all of her attention on her son, who, despite her efforts, is not progressing the way she hoped. Under the loving yet scrutinizing eye of her mother, Doreen feels like she’s failing the one job that matters most.
A candid look at how we try to change the people that matter most to us, and how we cope when we realize we can’t.
Running time: 1 hour