Main Street Recommends

Heather Dell’Amore debuted her one-woman show, “No Hope for Oz,” at the Stissing Center in Pine Plains on Sunday, April 28. 

The show, which is centered around Heather’s life thus far, addresses the ways in which motherhood mirrors childhood and how the way we grow up impacts the ways in which we treat our own children later on in life.

“No Hope for Oz” 

The show was directed by Samantha Jones and ran for about an hour. It was split into five acts, during which Heather bounced back and forth between re-living scenes from her childhood and teenage years to her more recent years as she learns how to be a mom to three kids. 

In the show, she addresses important parts of life including hitting puberty and how bodily changes affect the way you can do daily tasks (i.e. swim team), the first time she lost sight of one of her children at the park and her subsequent and totally justified freakout, and the time she convinced her mother to let her attend Woodstock ‘99. 

She spends the entire show making jabs at herself and her own mother and layering it with self-deprecating humor and nuanced lessons about motherhood, but her personal experience at Woodstock is the turning point. 

In the scene, she shows us her excitement to spend the weekend attending the festival. The first day goes well and she finds herself in awe of the music and the people. On the second day, she notices a marked turn in the energy. Everywhere, there are men yelling at a sixteen year-old Heather and her friends to take off their shirts, among other vulgarities. 

Later, while Heather and her friends are in the mosh pit, things get violent. We’ve all heard about Woodstock ‘99, so I’m sure we all know how things go from here. Things are thrown at the performers, concert-goers become agitated and aggressive, and fires are set. 

As she recalls the trauma she experienced there, she stands in the center of the stage with one spotlight on her, telling herself to breathe and recalling a happier time from her childhood to get through her traumatic experience. 

There was not a single dry eye in the audience. 

The ability to be so raw on a stage in front of over one hundred people is impressive, but the ability to make the audience feel like we’re right there with her is a gift. 

A must-see

Heather superbly mixes humor with tragedy as she weaves together stories from her childhood with tales of motherhood. A writer first and foremost, Heather’s unique storytelling keeps you engaged and on the edge of your seat … just make sure you don’t accidentally fall off while laughing. 

She had the entire crowd, myself included, laughing and crying throughout the entire show. It felt as though we were walking through her life right alongside her. The ability to make an audience resonate so deeply with a piece of art is not easy, but Heather had us all sitting in the palm of her hand. 

“No Hope for Oz” is a must-see for all, not just mothers – although you may resonate with her story just a touch more than the rest of us. 

Heather Dell’Amore will be performing “No Hope for Oz” at various locations in the coming months. Stay tuned for updates on her Instagram @heatherhope_cries.