“A Charity Case” is a play written by Wendy Beckett and it follows the adoption journey of Deidre, a 17-year-old adoptee, Faith, Deidre’s adoptive mother, and Harpie, Deidre’s birth mother. The play recently opened up on Broadway and will be running through November 20, at Harold Cluman Theatre on Theatre Row in New York.
In reviewing the show for theatermania.com, David Finkle writes that one of the key themes for the show is “Who decides what makes a mother?” Finkle writes that while Faith tells her daughter that she decides what makes a mother, the author of the play, Beckett, wants the audience to come to their own conclusions after watching “A Charity Case.”
According to a short article in the New York Times, Beckett wrote this play based on her life experiences of being adopted and being an adoptive mother. The article described the play by saying “Our most sacred of relationships is the one we have with our mothers. The journey is blessed, cursed, mysterious and tender. When a child is adopted a whole layer of complexity is added to the relationship. Playwright Wendy Beckett explores this parallel world with imagination and feeling based on a deep knowledge of the subject…”
If you live in, or plan on visiting the New York area in November is this a play that would interest you?