The Mouse’s Mom – My Friend, Judy Lawler

How do you pinpoint the genesis of a friendship? In this case, it was community theater that brought Judy Lawler and me together. The first show I directed for Pocono Lively Arts was Cinderella, in 1984. While there were no mice in the script, I recalled the Disney film which had a veritable mouse universe. I’m sure I wasn’t the first director of the stage show to do this, but I thought, we have to have mice in this show. We had four adorable little kids, I think maybe six and seven years old, and the tiniest and I believe youngest was Marjorie Lawler. Marjie’s mom, Judy, who was there for rehearsals anyway, offered to help backstage.

That was the beginning. The next year PLA did Brigadoon and both the Lawler ladies were onstage, and that became their routine for many years. (One of the greatest things about PLA was the involvement of more than one family member in our shows.) Over the years, Judy played a lot of characters, from a nun in The Sound of Music to one of Major-General Stanley’s female relatives in The Pirates of Penzance; from the White Rabbit in Alice to Fruma Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof. She was a talented woman with a great sense of comedic timing, and one of my favorites of her myriad roles was the Stepmother in another production of Cinderella, in 1993. This tiny, dynamic lady was incredibly funny bullying her two daughters who were both bigger than she was.

  

As one of the comic duo in Babes in Toyland, Judy suffered a severe injury onstage near the end of the final performance of the show when she landed a comic jump at a bad angle. Her foot was severely broken and she was out of commission for months. But she returned as soon she could, and in later years was a terrific Widow Harper in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, singing as she danced all over the stage. And she was the greatest ever Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. Her castmates in any theatrical production loved this unfailingly positive and supportive actress. Judy had a wicked sense of humor. She had fun, and she was fun.

Judy loved performing and went outside of Pocono Lively Arts musicals to appear with Center Stage Players in non-musical productions—both comedy and drama—and even took part in an indie film, a drama. I don’t recall what led to our deciding to establish a summer Children’s Theater Workshop, but we did it together for some twenty years. Judy was beloved by all those children we saw over those years—mainly because she truly loved them. She had a gift for teaching and directing our children’s shows.

Our friendship went beyond theater, though, and in 2013 she encouraged me to try my hand at writing a book. I remember the exact day (May 6), and exactly what she said to encourage me. At first, I scoffed and said I might as well try climbing Mt. Everest, but she said, “Don’t think so big. Think of one event. One thing.” I had just the thing in mind, a story of tragedy to triumph that happened to a high school friend. And then she said: “Write it in the first person. From her point of view.” That did it. I was set on a path that opened my life to a new passion. She read my work and encouraged me. She would listen for long stretches when I discussed a plot I had in mind. Now, that is a true friend.

Professionally, Judy earned a second degree in pastoral counseling from Moravian College. She worked in a rehabilitation center for a number of years, and for the local hospice. She had private clients as a counselor. Judy’s spirituality allowed her to always see beyond the moment, beyond the trouble and pain. Beyond despair. She exuded love and kindness.

She was a great wife and mother, an amazing friend, generous to a fault. Judy was in many ways my mentor, my guru, the person I could confide in. The person who would listen to my book plots and be unfailingly encouraging.

She will be sorely missed.