Texas Radio Hall of Famer Dayna Steele and award-winning director Marley Singletary present The Woman in the Mirror, a dark and uplifting comedy adapted from Steele‘s book, "Surviving Alzheimer’s With Friends, Facebook and a Really Big Glass of Wine."
For the play's premiere, Steele will star as herself along with Chris King playing the role of best friend, confidant, stage manager, shoulder to cry on, and voice of reason.
The play is a dose of therapy and sanity along with laughter and wine because when it comes to Alzheimer's if you don't laugh, you'll cry. Produced by Blue Squirrel Productions, the play will run from November 4th, 2021, until November 14th at MATCH, Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston, located at 3400 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002.
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Steeleworkers unite to fight Alzheimer's disease!
I've given you free Texas media news for 16 years, now I need your help! I'm teaming up with Dayna Steele to unite the 101 KLOL Steeleworkers and end Alzheimer's!
Both of our mothers died from this terrible disease.
Please join or donate to our "Steeleworkers" Walk to End Alzheimer's team today!
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In her best-selling memoir, Steele candidly chronicled her mother’s journey with Alzheimer’s on Facebook with unfiltered observations and dark humor. Now, audiences will be met with Steele’s signature refreshing honesty laced with biting humor that stands testament to her personal strength and resiliency in the face of extraordinary and unexpected circumstances. This is a story about surviving Alzheimer’s while keeping your humor and sanity intact.
When her mother, Fran Nicholson, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2013, Steele began posting Facebook messages detailing the family’s alarming and shocking struggles, which turned into a therapeutic support and information community encompassing thousands of followers.
As a continuation of her humor and raw emotion in navigating a heartbreaking Alzheimer’s journey, The Woman in the Mirror is a living caregiver’s manual for navigating the disease from diagnosis through the inevitable end, and it does so with love, laughter, wit and wine. Steele extends her compassion for helping families better understand critical issues associated with Alzheimer’s care by incorporating interviews with experts in neurology, long-term care insurance, caregiving, documentation, elder care legal issues and assisted living.
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“Throughout my mother’s Alzheimer’s journey, I needed to live, laugh, love, cry and even rage at the disease,” said Steele. “Through this project, the audience is given permission to have those same fluctuating emotions and also to benefit from practical information and the insights offered by subject matter experts.”
The Woman in the Mirror is written and directed for the stage by Marley Singletary and is co-produced by Steele, Singletary, and public relations professional Melissa Stevens, whose husband succumbed to Alzheimer’s in 2010.
Each performance will be followed by a short Q&A session with Dayna and area Alzheimer’s experts that may include a doctor, nurse, professional caregiver, elder law attorney, assisted living expert, and more. Dayna will also be signing books in the lobby after each the Q&A. The show runs 75 minutes with no intermission.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
All seating: $35.00-$50.00
General Admission: $50.00
Students & Seniors: $35.00
For more information and ticket sales, visit MATCH, call the box office at 713.521.4533, or email boxoffice@matchhouston.org.
About Dayna Steele
Dayna Steele (Actor/Playwright/Producer) is a Texas rock radio Hall of Famer, host of the Rock Star Principles podcast, and a best-selling author of numerous books on success. She is also a popular motivational keynote speaker, serial entrepreneur, Broadways and West End investor (Come From Away, Tina The Musical, Chasing Rainbows: The Early Judy Garland Story, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella), and a former US Congressional candidate. Steele and her wonder husband, longtime NASA pilot and author Charles Justiz, live in Houston, Palm Springs, and NYC. They have three grown sons, one bonus daughter, and the occasional rescue dog.
About Marley Singletary
Marley Singletary (Director/Playwright/Producer) is an award-winning director, producer, and writer. She holds a MA in Theatre Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama-University of London and a BFA in Performance from Baylor University. Upon completion of her MA, Marley began her professional directing career in London. In 2011, Marley moved to Houston, and in 2012, she began working for Theatre Under the Stars in various roles before becoming the Associate Artistic Director in 2014. While at TUTS, she co-created the new series with a focus on new works, TUTS Underground. She later joined HITS Theatre as the Director of Artistic Production. In 2017, she served as the Producing Executive Director at Queensbury Theatre where she developed a professional season which included two world premieres and one regional premiere. Marley’s directing credits include: The Music Man, Side Show, For Tonight (World Premiere), Breaking Out of Sunset Place (World Premiere), Elf, Violet, Unlock’d (Regional Premiere), The Sweet Potato Queens (World Premiere), Bonnie & Clyde, Striking 12, First Date, Footloose, The Evils of Tobacco, James and the Giant Peach, Jr., The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Zombie Prom, and Elf Jr. Her associate directing credits include Oliver, A Christmas Story, Music Man, Waiting for Johnny Depp, Reefer Madness, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Murder Ballad, Elf, Man of La Mancha, and Edward II. Marley wrote the book for the new musical Lady of Agreda which premiered in Houston in March 2020. Marley is a proud member of SDC. She is a newish resident of Charlotte, NC, where she loves spending time with her partner, Fred, and all of their kids--Carolina, Owen, Ezra, and Johanna.
About Chris King
Chris King (Actor) is an artist and performer from Houston, Texas. He studied musical theatre at Sam Houston State University where he received his B.F.A. He recently moved to NYC and is excited to see what unfolds there for him. He is humbled and so grateful to share this incredibly poignant and important story with audiences. He is thankful to God and the entire team for this opportunity and experience. And he thanks you for your support of local artist. He hopes you will leave this theatre experience informed and transformed.
About Kaylee Sarton
Kaylee is a stage manager based in Houston, TX. Main Street Theater for Youth: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!, Junie B’s Essential Survival Guide to School, Diary of Anne Frank; Lady in Blue Productions: Lady of Agreda (Premier), Lady of Agreda (Staged Reading); Seattle Children’s Theatre: Heathers the Musical: High School Edition; AD Players: God’s Favorite, You Can’t Take it With You, Madagascar Jr.; Sam Houston State University: Assassins, Our Lady of 121st Street, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Clybourne Park. Education: BFA Theatre, Sam Houston State University.
What people are saying about The Woman in the Mirror
“When you hear the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, there is no way to prepare yourself for the many ways the disease takes away your loved on. Surviving Alzheimer's with Friends, Facebook, and a Really Big Glass of Wine is a comprehensive guide of things you need to think of after the shock wears off. Every doctor should include this as a most read for their patient families.”
– Lisa W. Bacon
“I buy this book as a must read for any of my friends who must go down the Alzheimer's path with a parent. The humor, the tears and the resources all help. It's a must read for adults with parents beginning to show signs.”
– Laura Manning Stokes
“I would normally never read a book about Alzheimer’s or click LIKE on a Facebook post about someone’s declining mother. Dayna Steele sneaked past my defenses the same way that she dealt with her own misery – with humor – by making me laugh, she managed to break my heart.”
– Lisa Gray, Houston Chronicle “Gray Matters”
“Parents with dementia don’t come with a manual. But Dayna helped me get my head on straight and prepared for 4 wonderful years of learning, mis-steps and adventures. Our experiences were different but equally rewarding.”
– Stefan Hill
“Yes, I bought and read the book. More importantly, I was a daily follower of the Facebook posts. My dad had recently passed and my mom had been recently diagnosed with dementia. The Facebook community was extremely helpful because I no longer felt alone as a surviving child/caregiver. It was very therapeutic.”
– Harry Dean
