From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 309, A Preview: "Steve Solomon's My Mother's Italian My Father's Jewish & I'm In Therapy!" (The Ridgefield Playhouse)

 By James V. Ruocco

"Watching Steve Solomon perform 'My Mother's Italian My Father's Jewish & I'm In Therapy!' is a bit like listening to a mockingbird. You'll catch a little Alan King here, a pinch of Seinfeld there, with a smidgen of Don Rickles, Billy Crystal and George Carlin thrown in. Adding to the sense of comic deja vu, his delivery is peppered with clever vocal effects - the kind that were Billy Cosby's trademark during his standup days."

Variety

"A 90-Minute Laugh-Fest."

Hadassah Magazine

"It's So Clever! You're Going to Love It."

WOR-Radio

"Steve Solomon is like the uncle at Thanksgiving who just won't stop cracking jokes."

The New York Times

"Perfect Comic Timing."

The New York Post

After more than 10,000 live performances and a record-breaking one million in ticket sales, Steve Solomon brings his critically-acclaimed comedy show "My Mother's Italian My Father's Jewish & I'm In Therapy!" to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Sunday, May 8, 2002, which, coincidentally, also happens to be Mother's Day.

Oy, vey!
What a great gift for mother, Uncle Louie and dear, old dad.
If you're looking for laughs, Solomon more than delivers, one by one, in rapid succession like a master vaudevillian weened on grandma's medicinal chicken soup.

"I wanted to write something that was universal - that was accepted universally and it worked," says Solomon. "You don't have to be Jewish or Italian to love the show. All you have to do is recognize a family that you happen to know and come home from a dinner with a heartburn and a headache."

The event - yet another gem in The Ridgefield Playhouse's weekly calendar of invigorating hand-picked entertainment's - is being presented as part of the venue's ongoing Teed & Brown Broadway & Cabaret Series and the Barts Tree Service Comedy Series.
All mother's - or mom's, if you prefer - in attendance will receive a complimentary glass of Freixenet Ice (a refreshing sparkling wine from Spain) for all their hard work.

As created by Solomon, "My Mother's Italian My Father's Jewish & I'm In Therapy!" is classic comedy stand-up laced with funny bone essentials, ticks and gadgets that celebrate the comedian's Jewish-Italian heritage, his upbringing, his thoughts, his memories, his conversations and his upclose, wonderfully unique comic persona.
Using hilariously timed accents, sound effects, impersonations and dialects, he transports his audience into a fun-filled world of remembrance rife with playful tidbits and characters that pretty much everyone who buys a ticket can relate too. 
Among them: growing pangs, mixed marriages, divorce, ex-wives, raising children, diets that don't work, cat and dog obsession, meddling parents, therapy, Kosher cooking, Jewish grandmothers, cultural misunderstandings, mobile phones calls with mom and dad, kids, grandkids, etc.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Solomon grew up in the multi-cultural neighborhoods of Sheepshead Bay. The perfect training ground for the up-and-coming comedian, he knew at an early age how to use observations, dialogue and real-life events - class clown, Chinese delivery boy, among them - to hone and develop accents, jokes, one-liners, comic characters and crafty comic routines.

In addition to "My Mother's Italian My Father's Jewish & I'm In Therapy!" his other works include "I'm Home For the Holidays," "Cannoli, Latkes & Guilt...the therapy continues" and "From Brooklyn to Broadway in Only 50 Years."
Solomon also penned the best-selling book "Political Correctness and Other Forms of Insanity," which was also the basis for comedic episodes produced for The Golden Network TV Channel and programs of the same name that are currently being streamed on all ROKU devices.
Currently on tour throughout the United States, Solomon is the recipient of the Connecticut Critic's Circle Award; the "Best New Off-Broadway Play" award from Broadway.com; and "Audience Favorite Play" from Broadway World.

"What is comedy?" says Solomon. "Comedy is being able to laugh at yourself. That's funny. That's comedy.
"When you grow up in a big family, as I did, you grow and change. You tolerate things as a kid because you didn't know any better. When you come back, one uncle has dementia and the other has terminal gas."

"Steve Solomon's My Mother's Italian My Father's Jewish & I'm In Therapy" is being staged 7:30 p.m. at The Ridgefield Playhouse (80 E. Ridge Rd., Ridgefield, CT) on Sunday, May 8, 2022.

Tickets are $45.

For reservations or more information, call (203) 438-5795.

website: ridgefieldplayhouse.org