05/08/2026
After an inspiring and “magical” brunch with the Producer, Writer and Director, both Turning Point Foundation & the Ventura County Mental Wellness Festival are proud to support “Crazy Mama” — a powerful production raising awareness and inspiring conversations around mental health. This play’s first debut was at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura. It is now traveling to New York for an Off-Broadway opening this Sept - Oct! Purchase ticktets to the New York show or become a Sponsor by viewing this special press release. https://www.mentalwellnessfest.com/CrazyMamaPressRelease.pdf
Written by Sharon Scott Williams
Directed by Anson Williams
Produced by Rubicon Theatre Company (Karyl Lynn Burns & Kimiko)
Starring Linda Purl, with Will Huse as The Blues Man
"Laced with humor, live music, and pathos, Linda Purl stars in this tour-de-force story of a young girl’s decades-long dream of saving her mother from the soul-crushing grip of mental illness.
As Mama continues to be committed to mental institutions, convinced she’s working for the FBI, Daddy blurs his pain with Kentucky bourbon and teenage brother Spikey struggles with his faith. Sharon grows up shackled to her mother’s pain, but never loses hope that one day Mama will come home.
A true story inspired by Sharon Scott Williams’ award-winning memoir, Crazy Mama is a poetic journey through the labyrinth of love, despair, and redemption, and is a testament to the steely resilience of the human heart and the enduring nature of hope."
“Mental illness touches nearly every family — but too often, it lives in silence, shame, or misunderstanding. This play breaks that silence. Through humor, heartbreak, and unflinching honesty, Crazy Mama opens a dialogue about mental illness and the stigma. A mother-daughter relationship of resilience, survival, and forgiveness tells the stories we tell ourselves to keep going And ultimately, it offers something rare: Hope.”
