Taking Care

by Mia McCullough

Taking Care chronicles the last years of an elderly woman and the mentally ill adult son who has lived with her for almost three decades. Stuck in a cramped, one-bedroom apartment, Ma and Benny have spent much of the past thirty years pretending the other wasn’t there. Now that the old woman is more or less house-bound, she foists conversation upon her unwilling son and threatens to institutionalize him if he...

Taking Care chronicles the last years of an elderly woman and the mentally ill adult son who has lived with her for almost three decades. Stuck in a cramped, one-bedroom apartment, Ma and Benny have spent much of the past thirty years pretending the other wasn’t there. Now that the old woman is more or less house-bound, she foists conversation upon her unwilling son and threatens to institutionalize him if he doesn’t clean up his act and start behaving more responsibly.

When she breaks her hip, Ma convinces her alienated daughters that their brother is well enough to look after her in her “recovery.” Realizing that failure to do so could result in institutionalization for both them, Benny tries to rise to the occasion and care for his mother, even as she begins a quick decent into dementia. His new responsibilities test his limited capabilities and force mother and son to forge new bonds in the waning days of her life.
Taking Care can be purchased here:
http://www.broadwayplaypubl.com/TAKING%20CARE.htm

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Taking Care

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear: Taking Care

    An incredible piece that reveals so much about the relationship between a pair of caretakers. A mother and her son who have a powerful bond. Well done.

    An incredible piece that reveals so much about the relationship between a pair of caretakers. A mother and her son who have a powerful bond. Well done.

  • Robert Robbins: Taking Care

    I read this play in the "New Plays From Chicago" anthology. I once knew somebody in similar tragic circumstances so I could relate to the characters. This is one of the finest tragedies I have read last year. It is definitely the kind of play I would want to see in the theater.

    I read this play in the "New Plays From Chicago" anthology. I once knew somebody in similar tragic circumstances so I could relate to the characters. This is one of the finest tragedies I have read last year. It is definitely the kind of play I would want to see in the theater.

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization The Victory Theatre, Year 2007
  • Type Professional, Organization Steppenwolf Theatre, Year 2003