Patchogue Theatre hosts comedy show about all-things motherhood

It’s not surprising that Meredith Masony conducts a phone interview with Newsday about her live show “My Name Is Not Mom” while she’s getting her nails painted lavender at a salon near her home in Jacksonville, Florida, with the sound of the nail file moving back and forth in the background.

Multitasking is her M.O. — she frequently shares her everyday life with 3 million Facebook followers while folding laundry, cooking dinner, or, in cases of extreme parental overload, eating ice cream straight from the container while hiding in a closet to escape her children, ages 16, 13 and 12.

Masony will be performing on Long Island Sept. 29 when she and fellow mom comics Tiffany Jenkins and Dena Blizzard bring their onstage creation to the Patchogue Theatre.

Between the three women, they cover the little, middle and grown-and-flown phases of parenting, with kids from the age of 6 to 22.

"These three moms helped other moms during the pandemic and it really kept everybody sane when we were in lockdown," says Jodi Giambrone, associate director of the Patchogue Theatre. Now, local moms can meet them and hear from them in person, she says.

Here are four things to know about the 90-minute, no intermission, no-holds-barred comedy show:

THE SHOW WAS BORN OF THE PANDEMIC Masony already knew Jenkins, who also lives in Florida, and Blizzard, who hails from New Jersey, when the pandemic began, and she says she found herself spending a lot of time talking with them about how they were all surviving the era. Masony thought they should create a show that would, once it was safer to gather in groups, get moms out of the house for much needed laughter and fun. They put the show together via Zoom.

THEY EACH GET A TURN During the stage show, each of woman takes a turn performing her own stand-up routine. “Each of us had been on stage prior to this and had our own platform and our own brand,” Masony says. Jenkins, who connects with millions of social media followers through Juggling the Jenkins (she'll be at the show even though she recently announced she’s going to be "off the grid for a bit" to take care of her mental and physical health), might talk about elementary school challenges such as technology, sibling fighting and kids’ nonstop energy. Masony, whose platform is That’s Inappropriate, will cover dealing with puberty and explaining the birds and the bees.  Blizzard, a.k.a. One Funny Mother, will fret about what she’s supposed to be doing now that her kids are grown.

IT’S A BONDING EXPERIENCE At other points during the show, the three moms are onstage together. They’ll also highlight some videos submitted by fans. “It’s a way to commiserate and vent on what we go through as parents, as women, as wives. The whole premise is that we can all relate to one another. We’re not crazy; these kids do things to make us crazy,” Masony says. Apparently, it's a message that resonates: “We’ve had party buses pull up and 50 people get off.”

THEIR KIDS HAVE VETO POWER Now that Masony’s kids are in middle school, she checks with them on what’s she’s putting out in the world. “When they realized their friends could Google me, then it became concerning,” Masony says. “They’ll say, ‘Don’t say this live, don’t talk about this.’” On the other hand, her kids have also wanted to get in on the action. “My son said, ‘I want to do a video. I’m going to pretend to be you.’ He was me and I was him, and it was a bunch of fun.”

By Beth Whitehouse

beth.whitehouse@newsday.comBethWhitehouse1

Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.