Bristol Riverside Theatre presents Allison and Margaret Engel’s ‘Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End’

Bombeck (1927-96) is remembered as a witty writer who mused about American suburban life from the 1960s until her death. Most of her more than 4,000 columns, syndicated to more than 900 newspapers, are collected in some of her 15 books, like Just Wait Until You Have Children of Your Own, The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank, and If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? People of a certain age will remember these titles even if they didn't read the books.

More than laughs

The playwrights make clear that Bombeck was more than just a humorist. She advocated for women by writing honestly about the work and worries of suburban housewives, who toiled in the postwar era without recognition or respect.

To make this point, they keep Erma busy, which Eisenhower directs with skill. Roman Tatarowicz's set shows a suburban home on three levels, the better to keep Watson's tireless Bombeck rushing up and down stairs. While she talks with us, she irons and folds clothes, vacuums the rug, puts away dishes, and answers the phone and the door. Her writing "office" is the ironing board set to table height in the bedroom; she sits on the bed and types, stealing time while the kids are at school and her husband at work.

Sometimes this seems too much, especially when Erma answers the door and pantomimes with an unseen visitor or engages in one-sided phone conversations, but the point is clear: being a housewife is hard work, and becoming a writer as well is even more challenging, especially in the male-dominated publishing world.

Past wifely perfection

Watson excels at this one-hour sprint, rushing around with boundless energy and enthusiasm even when discussing writing "an optimistic book about kids' cancer." She beams with pride about Bombeck's work with feminist leaders on the Equal Rights Amendment. Linda B. Stockton costumes her in authentic mid-60s-mom clothes, and Karen Spahn lights the show with flair.

Bombeck's commonsense advice and witty aphorisms inspired a generation of homemakers to take pride in their work and to shatter the unattainable image of wifely perfection found in advertising, television, and movies.

As Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End shows, her ideas hold up well today. Take heed that you "never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." Take comfort in her observation that "marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with a car battery." Nod in agreement with "when humor goes, there goes civilization."

If Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End inspires people to read her books, then the show will have accomplished something special.