Grief, gallows humor and rage evoke raw emotions

Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts presents "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital in New York City” Jan. 24-Feb. 2, at the Red Curtain Arts Center, 9315 State Ave. #J, in Marysville. The play, as deeply felt as its name is long, is written by Halley Feiffer and directed by Sherry Penoyer.

This dark comedy explores the burgeoning relationship between a twenty-something aspiring female comic and a troubled, middle-aged divorced man who meet — and clash — in the hospital room shared by their dying mothers. Karla furiously scribbles inappropriate jokes in a notebook as her mother Marcie snores alongside her, tethered to the hospital bed by an IV and nose cannula. Middle-aged, disheveled Don enters halfway through Karla’s impromptu rehearsal and is horrified by the indelicate nature of her monologue. But he, too, is tethered to this room by his own ailing mother Geena, who is in much more serious condition than Marcie, and by the dissolution of his family thanks to his wife’s decision to leave him and his son’s penchant for stealing money from his bank account.

The play is rated R, and contains pervasive adult language, sexual situations, emotional abuse, and themes of dying and death.

Performances are Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Red Curtain Arts Center (9315 State Ave, Suite  — in the Goodwill shopping center, behind the EvCC cosmetology school). Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors (62+), students over the age of 16 and military personnel. Tickets are available online at brownpapertickets.com; at the RCF box office by phone 360-322-7402); or in-person at the arts center Tuesday-Saturday from 2-6 p.m.