Around the Island

Friday Night Dialogues: ‘Confessions of an Early Boomer’

CHARITY ROBEY PHOTO Jennifer Maxson
CHARITY ROBEY PHOTO Jennifer Corwin Maxson

As her 70th birthday approaches, Jenifer Corwin Maxson’s new performance is her attempt to make sense out of the past seven decades, viewed through the lens of being one of the early Baby Boomers. It’s also about confronting the specter of “official old age” from someone who was taught not to trust anyone over 30.

The ever-popular actress and playwright will bring her unique form of wit and insight to the December 2 Friday Night Dialogue at the Shelter Island Library with her one woman show, “Confessions of an Early Boomer.”

Until they were recently surpassed by Millenials, Baby Boomers made up the largest demographic in the United States. Starting in 1946, exactly nine months after World War II ended, “the cry of the baby was heard across the land,” as historian Landon Jones later described the trend. By the time the wave ended in 1964, close to 77 million babies were born, making this generation the largest in American history and close to 40 percent of the nation’s population.

Now between the ages of 51 and 70, this is the generation that lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, witnessed the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. They saw “the race to space” on the first television sets, along with “The Mickey Mouse Club” and “Captain Kangaroo.”

As they grew older, many embraced a newly found counter-culture and turned their backs (at least temporarily) on the values of their “Silent Generation” parents. They protested the Vietnam War, watched the events at Kent State University with horror, found sexual freedom in the “pill” and listened to the voices of Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, along with the music of The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and countless other musicians that changed the musical landscape forever.

“Confessions of an Early Boomer” is the third in a series of shows about Ms. Maxson’s life. She started with “Red Hot Patriot” in 2014 and followed up with “In the Meantime” in 2015. She has also performed in numerous local theatrical readings and productions, including Terry Brockbank’s sold-out staging of Nora Ephron’s “Love, Loss and What I Wore,” at the library in 2012.

Friday Night Dialogues take place at 7 p.m. in the lower level community room of the library. Admission is free but donations are always appreciated.

Next up: Friday, December 16, enjoy “Wine Pairings for the Holidays” with wine consultant Dorothy Dean-Thomas.

For more information, contact the library at (631) 749-0042.