terraNOVA Collective and IRT Theater
present the New York premiere of

LAST CALL

Written by Terri Girvin
Directed by Michael Leeds
Sound Design: Phil Palazzolo
Lighting Design: Jason Fok
Stage Manager: Katie Meade

Featuring: Terri Girvin

Press Representative: Ron Lasko/Spin Cycle

IRT Theatre
154 Christopher Street
Through November 1, 2015
www.irttheater.org

In this one-person show, Terri Girvin has turned her many years of bartending, along with her impressionable childhood memories with her zany mother, into a tragicomedy. Her mother, Gwen, is a happy-go-lucky but unstable child, who can drive anyone batty. Gwen made them sing their words as children, and often dressed as a roller derby clown to amuse Terri, her siblings and their friends, much to their embarrassment. She was a force to be reckoned with, and hassled you until you caved in to her unreasonable demands.

As an adult, Terri moved across the country to New York, in part to find some distance from her mother. She auditioned for musical and comedy gigs and, like most performers, resorted to bartending to make ends meet. The bar patrons vary from regulars to old boyfriends to new faces. She tolerates the fast pace and various personalities - annoying, lonely, sloppy and mean - providing a listening ear and a shoulder at times. Occasionally she has to police them, much like she did as a young girl when dealing with her mother’s improprieties.

With the aid of sounds (liquor being poured, doors locking and unlocking, street sounds, music playing) and voice recordings (patrons ordering drinks, conversations with her brothers and mother), the play skillfully unfolds. Much of it takes place in a lively bar, where Terri serves quirky personalities, while trying to ignore her mother’s incessant phone calls. Terri is a very emotive, bubbly personality, whose portrayals easily switch between her mother and herself.

Being the only daughter, she is now pressured to take in her homeless mother. Yet, with no room in her studio apartment, and no desire to be overshadowed again, she tells her mother not to come. In what might be their final conversation, Terri tells Gwen she cannot have her in her life any longer. Surprised by her words, we are left to wonder if Terri will indeed cut the cord.

- Gloria Talamas -