The subject is taking care of your parents in “The Drop Off”

These days, adult sons and daughters face dealing with the declining health, physical and mental, of their parents. For many, the most practical solution is taking parents from their long-time homes and placing them in assisted living facilities. The Drop Off, having its world premiere by the New Jersey Repertory Company, faces these hard choices with honesty and a wry, sardonic humor. 

James Anthony Tyler, the playwright, has crafted a story that is touching and funny, but also at times anguishing — in short, as close to real life as possible on stage. Director Delicia Turner Sonnenberg guides her cast with sensitivity and skill, eliciting performances that feel absolutely grounded in reality yet with moments of sometimes unexpected humor arising naturally.

We first meet Allian (Chantal Jean-Pierre) as she brings her mother Delphina (Joyce Sylvester) to Deer Lakes, an assisted living facility in Las Vegas. Many of Delphina’s things have been moved into her new apartment by Allian in order to make the place feel more familiar. But Delphina is having none of it — she wants to go home.

She can’t, or won’t, understand why Allian, who has to work full time, couldn’t let her stay in her house and come over to take care of her. Allian, for her part, is trying to get her mother to give her $4000 so she won’t be evicted from her rented house. Unfortunately, Allian’s gambling addiction has landed her in this precarious financial situation, and while the money is due that afternoon, Delphina mistrusts her daughter’s ability to get the money to her landlord instead of losing it gambling.

A soothing influence on Delphina is her aide Mimi (Harmony Harris). Delphina’s objections and complaints are nothing Mimi hasn’t heard before from new arrivals at the assisted living home. While listening to Delphina and providing a buffer between mother and daughter, Mimi reassures Allian that her mother’s behavior is normal, and that Delphina will come to accept her situation in time. Mimi tries to empathize with Allian, confiding that she attends Gamblers Anonymous meetings. She invites Allian to join her at one, but Allian refuses, offended by Mimi’s unsolicited offer of help. Mimi takes it in stride and leaves.

After Delphina has an “accident” requiring her to be cleaned up, Allian calls Mimi to come help. Before Mimi arrives, another Deer Lakes resident comes knocking at the door — Crystal (Niambi), a contemporary of Delphina age wise who, like Delphina, is starting to show the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Crystal speaks to Allian like a mother and calms her down.

The actresses are wonderful. Jean-Pierre as Allian conveys the inner conflict of an adult daughter becoming the “parent” of her mother, balancing her natural concern and worry about her mother with trying to impress upon her the urgent need for money to avoid eviction. Sylvester’s Delphina is frustrated at the thought of not being able to live on her own, annoyed at lapses in memory, and resistant to giving her daughter money that would tempt her to gamble it away.

The two actresses create a realistic mother-daughter duo, and one can see how much alike in temperament and stubbornness they are. Harris’ aide has learned the hard way how to handle frightened, insecure newcomers and their oft-times ashamed or guilty relatives. She plays Mimi with a positive outlook on the lives of those in her care, but she has a core of inner steel when challenged by their family member caretakers.

As for Niambi’s portrayal of Crystal, she is a Southern lady of a certain age in flowery, bright yellow regalia, freely giving the opinions she has formed over years of experience and brooking little resistance. Crystal and Delphina play off each other in a finale that is deadly serious and hilariously funny at the same time. Repetition of questions and anecdotes accumulate, dressed in the polite conversational rhythms of two old ladies starting to know each other. It is a final grace note to a play that is true to life, especially in the autumn of one’s years.

As usual, NJ Rep’s design team works wonders even under budget constraints that larger theaters around the state do not have. Jessica Parks’ creation of Delphina’s new apartment, dressed with bits and pieces of heirloom furniture and favorite paintings but still a little sterile, is the perfect setting for The Drop Off. Jill Nagel’s lighting and Nick Simone’s sound design help add to the realism of the set. Nicole Jescinth Smith’s costume designs are appropriate for each actress in terms of character, age, and personality (or in Mimi’s case, occupation).

The Drop Off looks with a sympathetic eye at the struggle of adults having to take care of parents whose health issues are more than they can handle by themselves — and parents losing their independence in a new, unfamiliar setting. It does so with humor, honesty, and good grace without ever becoming preachy. It is a special play, the latest of many fine offerings presented by the New Jersey Repertory Company, and is deserving to be seen. I cannot more strongly urge you to make the trip to Long Branch and witness the goings-on during The Drop Off!

The Drop Off is presented by the New Jersey Repertory Company at the Lumia Theatre in Long Branch through Nov. 16, 2025. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to njrep.org.