‘Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home‘ performance earns $11,000+ for the CRC
Breeda Miller takes a bow at the conclusion of what might be the final public theatrical performance of Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home on November 2, 2025, in the Manchester Jr/Sr High School auditorium. Photo by Sara Swanson.
by Sara Swanson
On Sunday, November 2, hometown playwright and performer Breeda Miller teamed up with the Manchester Community Resource Center (CRC) to put on a fundraising performance of Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home in the Manchester Jr/Sr High School auditorium. With a goal of raising $10,000, they sold 175 tickets and raised more than $11,000 in ticket sales and sponsorships!
While it seems like perfect timing that the performance occurred right when the national spotlight has shifted to hunger and food banks, the timing was serendipitous but not wholly unplanned.
Carol Wotring, the CRC’s executive director, explained that Miller reached out to them last February with the idea of holding a performance as a fundraiser during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend in a smaller downtown venue. Though the CRC was very interested, it was too short of a timeline and the CRC was swamped as every spring they host a program that provides free tax help for lower-income community members. Once they reached June, Wotring contacted Miller to ask if she was still interested. She said, “Absolutely.”
Miller states that while she had no idea the SNAP benefits pause was coming, she had a gut feeling things were going to get harder for people in the coming year and that we as a community would need to help each other. She stated, “I think one of the best ways is we have this existing organization, the CRC. They’re wonderful, and the food pantry is well used, but I had a feeling it was going to feel a lot more pressure.”
Miller has done over 50 performances in 21 states, has performed her show in Ireland, and had a filmed version shown on PBS last December. And she is experienced working with organizations to put the play on as a fundraiser, so she was able to talk the CRC through what they’d need to do. She stated, “I wanted to do everything I could on my end to make it successful, so that it would be worth their time.” She told the CRC they would need to secure the venue, then “get butts in seats.” She also suggested getting sponsors and a few other things.
She stated, “I was so impressed. Carol [Wotring] and Melissa [Licavoli, the CRC’s assistant directory] and the team at the Manchester CRC embraced this project so thoroughly and professionally.” They created ads, posters, flyers, and press releases, published an interview in a regional magazine, and even created yard signs advertising the event.
It was memorable for Miller seeing a yard sign for her play for the first time. She stated, “I was so shocked. I’m going on my walk through town, running the lines of the show, and it was a surreal experience to see yard signs with Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home while I’m out walking and running my lines.”
Wotring emphasized that it was a team effort. She explained that the CRC fund development committee, composed of Wotring and Licavoli, along with Dave Tamagne, Francisca Fernandez, and Alex Sass, took on the planning of the event. She stated, “Each committee member took on different tasks for the event. I don’t know how many hours they put in, but I am guessing it’s 15 to 20 hours each. Then we had a crew of 10 volunteers who were there the day of the event … they put in 2–3 hours each that day. Also, many of CRC’s board members sold tickets and posted flyers in the community.”
Wotring also emphasized that it was definitely a community-supported event. Miller didn’t charge any fees for her performance (and as everything is her creation, original photos, and specially commissioned versions of public domain music, there are no royalties to pay). Manchester Community Schools donated the use of the auditorium and the tech and maintenance personnel hours. The Manchester Senior Center loaned their coffee urns for the reception afterward.
As far as the reception, Miller stated that in her four years doing the performance, no other organization has done it as well as the CRC. Both tea and homemade apple pie play important roles in the play, and the reception following the performance gave people a chance to sit and talk over a slice of pie and cup of tea or coffee. She stated that it touched her heart that instead of buying commercially produced pies, the CRC ended up baking the pies themselves.
Partially, the decision came from necessity. Wotring explained, “We were getting down to two weeks before the show and we didn’t have a vendor for the pies. Dave’s wife, Dori Tamagne, offered to make them. I don’t think she had experience with making pies this big before.” Two volunteers worked with her, Francisca Fernandez and Carol’s husband, Glenn Wotring. Francisca’s husband, Kevin Fernandez, had to drive to Gordon Foods for more ingredients in the middle of the process. Francisca and Glen worked five hours on the pies and Dori stayed three hours longer than that, waiting for a cherry pie to finish cooking!
The volunteers baked five pies total, four were apple and for the reception and one was cherry. The pies were baked on large baking sheets. The cherry pie was a thank you to the Manchester United Methodist Church, which allowed them to use their kitchen. Carol Wotring stated, “Two of the apple pies were enjoyed at the reception following the play. It was great to see so many people stay after and enjoy the afterglow of the event. The remaining two apple pies were donated to the senior center for their lunch.”
When discussing the performance, Miller exclaimed that Manchester High School auditorium is her favorite venue to perform in. She explained, “For me, it is perfect, because it’s large enough that they could pretty much fill the house without people feeling too crowded, but not so large that a small show like mine would get lost on the stage.” She lamented that the beautiful theatrical venue isn’t being used more often and shouted out Andy Galicki and his assistant, Carl, who did tech for the show. She said, “He gets it. He knew what to do. He knew how to make the stage look good. He knew how to make me look good in the light, and how to help tell the story using those elements. And the sound was fabulous. … It’s really great when you work with partners who are as excited about it as you are.”
Miller’s first performance of Mrs. Kelly’s Journey home was held in the same auditorium four years ago. And the November 2 performance may be her last public theatrical performance, bookending the whole run with performances here in Manchester.
She stated that the biggest difference between the two performances is that she is much more confident in the material. She said, “Initially, the most important thing was ‘Just remember my lines. Remember my lines. Don’t forget. Don’t forget. Don’t forget.’ And and now it’s in my bones … so I allow myself that presence, that space on the stage, to let a joke land, or to let a poignant moment just kind of hang there for a moment. I didn’t have that confidence when I did it the first time.”
She has also tightened up the script since the first performance, and frequently it was at the expense of her father. She said, “I was taking out stories and, you know … and I felt guilty about my dad basically ended up being comic relief in the play, but the commitment I had made is the name of the show, is Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home. The focus was on Mrs. Kelly, and I didn’t want to diminish my dad … so I thought, I’ll put it in the book.”
The book Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home, The Story of an American Family was published last year and expands on the story in the play, diving into backstories and Miller’s parents’ early experiences in America. The book is available on her website — breedamiller.com — but you can purchase it from her in person during Christmas in the Village on December 6. She will have a table at the Manchester Area Historical Society’s craft show in the Kingsley-Jenter House located at 302 E Main St.
She states that she loves performing the show and still finds it healing, as she can feel her parents’ presence as she is performing and rehearsing, but she is ready to take a break from the work of marketing and “getting butts in seats.” So Miller has created a condensed, 55-minute version intended for conferences and organizations that don’t have the luxury of time for a full-length play but may want to use it as a creative alternative to a keynote speaker. She hopes to continue to be able to perform and educate about caretaking, the experience of being an immigrant, hospice, and dementia, and to convey it all in a joyful way. She added that if an organization did approach her in the future to put on another fundraising theatrical performance she wouldn’t say no.
She has another project in the works that grew out of the experience of caregiving alongside Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home. She has created a methodology for taking your family’s photos and stories and creating a digital photo album that can be shared with future generations called “turning your tubs of guilt into your family story.” She will be giving a free presentation this winter at the Manchester District Library as well as sharing all of her resources and links.
For now, she is working on the next stages but giving herself permission to pause. She stated, “You know, relax a bit, enjoy it. Say ‘It was a great success, good work, well done.’ Making a difference, and at the end of the day, that’s the goal.”
Wotring thanked Miller and everyone involved. She stated, “I am overwhelmed by gratitude for all of the support we received.” Much of the money raised from the performance came from ticket sales but the CRC also had 16 sponsors of the event. She added, “I want to thank all of our sponsors and to recognize three of them — Fredrick Hoff and Charles Sisung donated at the Cornerstone level of sponsorship ($2,500); and John and Suzanne Smucker, and Marlene Uphaus donated at the Community Builder sponsorship level ($1,000). Thank you.”
Manchester Community Schools donated the use of the high school for the fundraiser. Photo by Sara Swanson.
CRC executive director Carol Wotring welcoming volunteers before the performance. Photo by Sara Swanson.
Breeda Miller performs to a relatively full house. Photo by Sara Swanson.
Her father’s story, which is not the focus of the play, is more fully explored in the book. Photo by Sara Swanson.
Apple pie is a significant plot point of the story and attendees were treated to homemade apple pie at the reception after the performance. Photo by Sara Swanson.
Volunteers serving pie slices from one of four very large apple pies baked by more volunteers in the Manchester United Methodist Church kitchen the day before. Photo by Sara Swanson.
Attendees had their choice of pie or cake, and coffee or tea. Photo by Sara Swanson.
Melissa Licavoli, assistant director of the CRC, helps Breeda Miller with merchandise at her table after the performance while Miller fields questions. Photo by Sara Swanson.
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