Middlesex Arts: Family Matters

What would you do if you came across $100,000 that wasn’t rightfully yours? In this struggling economy, there are certainly lots of people who would be tempted to keep all that loot and try to improve their lives.

That’s the very dilemma faced by the Carter family in Judi Ann Mason’s ‘Livin’ Fat,’ which is being staged at Crossroads Theatre this weekend. Mason was a writer for the ’70s hit sitcom “Good Times” about a black family living in a Chicago ghetto, and her play, which was first produced in 1974, is often compared to ’70s-era sitcoms.

“The play is so well-written,” says Pamela Spaulding, who’s producing the run of ‘Livin’ Fat’ in New Brunswick June 24 and 25. “There a lot of comedic lines and it’s very unpredictable. We have a great ensemble cast and they’re working together and they’re just incredible. You’ll see the energy and how they come together and work this play, it’s amazing.”

In the play, David Lee works as a janitor in a bank. When the bank is robbed, the robbers leave $100,000 behind, which David Lee takes home. “So there we have the conflict of what to do with the money, to give it back or to keep it,” Spaulding says.

The play’s run is part of Crossroads’ Common Ground series. It’s also a fundraiser for Daughters Wanted, a New Brunswick-based support group for women who don’t have relationships with their fathers. Spaulding founded the group this past January.

“It’s designed to support women of all ages and all colors who are living without their fathers, whether that’s because your father passed away or you were abandoned at birth,” Spaulding says. “Whatever your situation is, if you are a female and you are living without your father, Daughters Wanted is designed to support you as you move through life without a father.”

Spaulding was influenced to start the group in part because she was raised by a single mother.

“I realized what happens is that sometimes as young women, we try to replace those missing pieces in ways that can sometimes be unhealthy,” she says, “particularly in the area of relationships, in looking for that affirmation and somebody to love us and fill that void.”

Spaulding has a connection to Crossroads, having interned there, then working at the theater after graduating with a degree in speech communications and theater from Hampton University. She produced a staging of “Livin’ Fat” when she worked at Crossroads, making the benefit performances a return to the theater and the play.

While the play does raise a thought-provoking question and contains themes about the nature of family, Spaulding says its main purpose is to give audiences a fun night of theater.

“It’s a night of laughter and surprising moments,” Spaulding says. “I believe that laughter is healing for us and I think it’s so important that we come out and have a good time and laugh and enjoy ourselves. Life just continues to come at us sometimes and we need to take a break, sit back, enjoy and have a good time.”

Livin’ Fat will be performed at Crossroads Theatre, 7 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick on June 24 at 8 p.m. and June 25 at 3p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets cost $35 at the door, $30 in advance. For information, go to www.crossroadstheatrecompany.org. For information about Daughters Wanted, go to www.daughterswanted.org.