Keeping It Inn

The lives of women born in the 1920s are rarely documented or even considered to be interesting. As a playwright and performer of Keeping It Inn, it is clear that Cindy Pierce had a front-row seat watching her mother, Nancy Pierce, break out of the conventional life expected of women her age and step into a whole new experience of becoming an innkeeper in New Hampshire. Audiences feel enveloped in warmth, humor, and vulnerability from the beginning to the end of this performance. Nancy and Reg ran Pierce’s Inn together for thirty-one years and found joy in the mundane as much as the exciting times. As a mom, wife, and innkeeper, Nancy connected with a wide variety of folks in her community and treasured time with their many children and grandchildren. With her sharp mind, quick wit, and outspoken nature, she navigated life with flare and unrelenting optimism. Pierce’s portrayal of her mother in Keeping It Inn explores family connection, caregiving for aging parents, devastating loss, a long, loving marriage, unhealed pain, and what holds in a person’s mind even when dementia robs their memory.

“Cindy Pierce is, was, and will continue to be the funniest woman I have ever met. She is a natural storyteller.” – Mike O’Malley, actor, writer, and producer best known for his role as Burt Hummel on ‘Glee.’

“Your gifted re-creation of your mother’s life with such an abundance of humor, care, and love was extraordinary.” – Alice Harrison, Hanover, N.H.

“I was laughing and crying; your show was funny, absorbing, and HONEST.” – Michael Livingston, Sharon, VT

“Our mom was a bold and interesting woman with a quick wit. To honor her amazing life, I wrote ‘Keeping It Inn,’ in which I play my mother over the last six decades of her life. As with many women of her time, internet searches yield more about her husband and kids rather than her powerful impact on the many people who knew her. My goal is to weave the spirit of our inspiring mom throughout the stories of her long life.” – Cindy Pierce