This February, Nineteen on the Park will present the pre-Toronto run of a brand new, one-woman show, Sex, Pies and a Few White Lies, written by and starring Monica Parker.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Monica immigrated to Toronto with her family when she was 13. During her early career as a fashion designer, she met director Ivan Reitman, who asked her to lend him clothes for his first feature film, Foxy Lady.

Mr. Reitman also offered her a part in the movie, which led to a successful and eclectic career as an actress, writer and producer.   She went on to write, produce and star in her own television series Sweet City Woman, which Mr. Reitman also directed and in which Dan Aykroyd got his first job in show business as her announcer.  For the next 12 years she worked non-stop as an actress and writer in theatre, film and television.  She co-starred in five other series until she was lured to Los Angeles with an offer to write for The Helen Reddy Show and An Evening at the Improv.

In 1988 she wrote the acclaimed movie All Dogs Go to Heaven. She has co-starred in several television movies including Radiant City with Kirstie Alley, The Other Woman and Jacey’s Story starring Gena Rowlands.   Her feature film work includes Road to Wellville starring Anthony Hopkins and Bridget Fonda, A Perfect Murder with Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow and Nancy Drew starring Emma Roberts.

In the words of her biography, “Monica has been married since dinosaurs roamed the earth to her wonderful, patient and caring husband Gilles and their less patient but none-the-less wonderful 23-year-old son Remy. They currently split their time between Toronto and Los Angeles but are determined to find the perfect cottage on a magical Muskoka lake and spend as much time there as possible.”

Sex, Pies and a Few White Lies will resonate with any woman who has ever battled the tyranny of body image. “Five pounds too much or 50 brings on a full menu of psychosis from an obsessive stalking of bakers, a committed avoidance of mirrors and a determination to drown out the judgment of tight and toned gym rats which ultimately leads to the pendulum swing of self loathing, starvation, bingeing, purging and in my case, gratitude,” observed Monica. 

“Without this endless struggle I wouldn’t be the woman I am today.  Without the hundred and one humiliations I have endured and inflicted upon myself, I would not have the humour, perspective and insight allowing me to be so grateful for being exactly me.   And that is my goal – to make you laugh a lot, wince a little and celebrate every single flaw whatever they may be, because they are our ticket to dancing down our own path.”

Performance dates for Sex, Pies and a Few White Lies are Feb. 17, 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are available from the Nineteen on the Park box office at 905-640-2322 or online at www.townofws.com/nineteen.

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