March 10 – March 31, 2018
CoHo Productions in Association with Dayna Corwin & Phyllis Yes Present
Good Morning, Miss America
by Phyllis Yes
Directed by Jane Fellows
Featuring Lorraine Bahr, Kelley Marchant, Jane Fellows and Rick Sadle
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
With brilliant candor and comedy, this play examines the very real challenges of caring for aging parents – familiar ground to anyone experienced with the shifting landscape of fragile health.
“So butt out, Jane.”
Jane, an independent older artist living in Oregon, has increasing concerns about her aging parents in the Midwest. The responsibility of their care falls on her shoulders. Jane’s near-daily phone calls and frequent trips between Oregon and Minnesota are, at times, the least of her difficulties. Jane’s only sibling, and mother’s favorite, Cindy refuses any responsibility for the care of their parents, and her “pop-in” visits to Minnesota only result in conflict and hostile accusations. Jane single-handedly navigates the situation, but caring for aging parents, long distance, is riddled with complications and astonishing revelations.
POST-SHOW DISCUSSION SCHEDULE
20-30 minute conversations with experts in various fields of elder care (geriatrics, financial planning, elder law, etc) will follow most performances of Good Morning, Miss America. Dates and guests are listed below.
- Thursday March 22: Shannon Conley (Law Offices of Nay & Friedenberg) and Michelle Castano Garcia (Northwest Investment Counselors)
- Friday March 23: Brett Callahan (Law Offices of Nay & Friedenberg) with Erick Ibarra and Denise Patridge (Charles Schwab)
- Saturday March 24: Caitlin Wong (Samuels, Yoelin and Kantor, LLP) and Elizabeth VanderVeer (VanderVeer Center)
- Sunday March 25: The cast of Good Morning, Miss America with Jane Vogel (Advance Gender Equity in the Arts)
- Thursday March 29: Dr. Howard Graitzer (Geriatrician, dementia expert)
- Friday March 30: Bill Cohen (Cohen Caregiving Support Consultants LLC) and Elizabeth VanderVeer (VanderVeer Center)
- Saturday March 31: Laura S. Nelson (Samuels, Yoelin, Kantor, LLP) and Elizabeth VanderVeer (VanderVeer Center)
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Phyllis Yes is an Oregon-based artist and playwright whose artistic media ranges from works on painted canvas to furniture, clothing, and jewelry, and notably, a silver 1967 Porsche 911-S, “Por She”—whose body was painstakingly painted in highly tactile pink and flesh-toned lace motif — exhibited at the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery in New York in the early 80’s and driven across the United States as a traveling exhibition. Her visual art has appeared in more than 140 exhibitions.
Good Morning Miss America is her first play. It was a semi-finalist at Artists Repertory Theatre’s
Table/Room/Stage competition in 2016. Yes is a member of PDX Playwrights, and a former theater, art and music critic for U.S. West website. She lives and works in Portland.
