An emotional journey in this solo performance

“The first thing I want to say is ‘I’m not okay.” ” That’s how lovingly adorable Maddie Corman begins the journey of her one-woman show, “Accidentally Brave.” It couldn’t be a more appropriate start.

She goes on to explain that this is not one of those ‘I was great and then life fell apart and then I became great again’ kind of stories. No, what Maddie Corman does is bring us into the here- and-now, and her process of putting back together the pieces of a life that was shattered by a loved one’s shameful secret. The loved one happens to be her husband. The kind of guy men admire and women compare their husbands to. A revered television writer and producer, he is a family man; one who goes to his kid’s games, enjoys family vacations, is romantic with his wife, doesn’t flirt with her friends or look at other women, listens to NPR, does the NY Times Sunday crossword puzzle, and has many other completely wonderful traits.
He just happened, one day, to be arrested on child pornography charges.
And that’s when Maddie Corman, working actress, mother of three, devoted and in love with her husband and her life wife, saw her world melt around her.

She was on her way from Dobbs Ferry in Westchester to a Brooklyn set to shoot a role in a sit-com, when the call came in from her hysterical daughter that the police were at her house and arresting her dad.
Maddie, still driving, had to comprehend what was going on, stay calm and reasonable for her kids, get herself to the set and film her scene, and prepare to hear a hidden truth about her husband that would fiercely change her life.

And so the journey of “Accidentally Brave”, written and performed by Maddie, directed by Kristin Hanggi begins.

The very well written and performed show serves as an opportunity for Maddie to do the opposite of what so many would do. Rather than hiding, she chooses to share her story, as it appears to give her strength to not live in the darkness of shadows. It is cathartic and likely empowering for her to take control of this tale, rather than for it to control her.

As she went through the period of time when sordid headlines about her husband made news…everywhere, and they had to deal with police, attorneys, court, bail, (the very topics that permeate “Law and Order”, the television show her husband produced) circumstances that became part of her and her family’s everyday world, she learned that others have also experienced traumatic turns of events in their lives. And she learned that through rehab for her husband, counseling, talking, crying, ripping apart their deepest thoughts and bringing them to light, she could find a way to cope with her life, and even have some good times now and again.

No, Maddie Corman is not okay at this moment in time. But she is talking about it 8 times a week when she performs her show, “Accidentally Brave” at the DR2 Theatre, providing a solid window into her experience, with even a few laughs along the way.

To hear my conversation with Maddie Corman, tune in to “Bagels and Broadway with Valerie Smaldone” Saturday morning, March 30 between 9 and 10 on AM 970 Radio, online at http://am970theanswer.com, and Alexa, and following the broadcast hear the podcast here.