What People Are Saying About Retiring the Champ

 

Press and Host Quotes about Show:

 “Judith Black is like a repertory company of one….She wittily conveys the trials and tribulations of one of life’s trickiest passages, negotiating our parents’ sometimes long and winding ending.”

Mobsy Strange Kennedy      The Improper Bostonian

 “Like most of Black’s stories, it’s funny and touching, filled with colorful characters, accents and songs.  And it’s thought provoking.”      The Boston Globe

“A superb one-woman show by the multi-talented Ms. Black. She can swagger like a sailor or act meek as a mouse. Her emotional range seems boundless. “

Mark R. Arnold-Editor  The Jewish Journal

 “Black’s one woman show, Retiring the Champ, is about redemption…also like all of Black’s tales, filled with laughter.”                  The North Shore Sunday

“What a wonderful evening-poignantly comical and definitely reflective. There were elements of all of our lives portrayed on that stage.”  Judy Soroko   Hospice of the North Shore

 “I saw your incredible show “Retiring the Champ” on Sunday with three colleagues and we are still in awe!  I am a social worker and executive director of a 136 year old, private non profit retirement home for women in Lowell.  My colleagues and I have considerable ALZ, assisted living, and nursing home experience, so your show truly struck a nerve. It has, become fashionable to book “renowned” physicians or speakers from the ALZ foundation.  Regrettably, they cannot begin to get the message across in nearly as eloquent, poignant or credible manner as you do.  Thank you for a inspired and inspiring performance.  I look forward to hearing from you.   Judith Blackburn        Executive Director Merrimack River Valley House

 “I feel that I learned more in a couple of hours with you than in 20 years as a physician on the job.”                                                       Dr. Allison  Brooks

 “Fearless, fierce and funny, Judith Black goes where no storyteller dares. Trina is an elder like none found in the storybooks; she could never be described as sweet, nor even as a “character” or curmudgeon.  She is as fierce and untouchable as molten metal — and she is the hero of this tale.

This tale tells us all that we are not alone, that caring for our elders frustrates, hurts, burns, and ultimately (perhaps) purifies. For in this story Judith Black takes us on Trina’s journey to death, a raging against the fading of the light, and on her own journey as a deeply conflicted caretaker. Dark as this passage might seem, Judith fills it with funhouse mirrors in which we come upon ourselves is unexpected perspectives and laugh at the resemblance. In this work of extraordinary honesty, compassion, and humor, Judith Black does the truest work of the

storyteller: to show us how our lives are story, and how stories enable us to live our lives.”

                                                                                                Glenn Morrow, editor

The Museletter LANES (League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling)

 

“The highlight of the three day retreat was definitely your performance “Retiring the Champ.” This provided the caregivers not only a theatrical experience but also a means to open discussions and entertain feelings and emotions that had been closeted.”

Mary Hrinko       Inland Caregiver Resource Center, CA

Retiring the Champ is magnificent.  It is so completely relevant to the work we do, enabling us a sensitive alternative window into the world we inhabit daily.  I have invited everyone to come see the performance that we have booked for our staff training.”

Arlene Silverlieb,  Director: Jack Satter House/Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged

“Magnificent … a great gift you have to be able to bring the audience safely along through a tortuous journey.”  Robert V. Gallant, Executive Director: Highland Valley Elder Services, Inc

The attendees, hospital staff including nurses and social workers at the first performance, community members who had dealt with relatives with dementia at the second meeting and medical staff members including physicians, nurse practitioners and PAs at the last meeting all felt that you had opened their eyes to aspects of Alzheimer’s disease, how it effects both the patient, and family and medical systems, that had previously been hidden from them. Many people marveled at your ability to represent all of the characters in this complex story with humor and drama.  The standing ovation you got from the medical staff was the first time I had seen a speaker be so recognized in the 39 years I have been involved with educational programs.

I would highly recommend your presentation to any medical institution since they are all increasingly dealing with the challenges of patients with Alzheimers disease.

Dr. Karl Singer:  Exeter Hospital, Exeter, NH