"Tying Up Loose Ends - Perspectives on Life Through Hospice" is a unique concert/play featuring Oak Parkers Catherine Gallogly and her daughter Ann.

Described as "a glimpse into life and everything that comprises the end of it: love, grief, joy and sadness," the play relates a series of original stories gleaned from Catherine Gallogly's experiences as a hospice nurse. Ann Gallogly, meanwhile, punctuates the narrative with period songs that complement the text.

According to Ann, "My mom and I talked for years about writing this show. She has been a nurse for a little over 30 years, and though she has only been in hospice for the last 8 or so, she's always had patients who were near the end of their lives. Our dinner table was always full of stories from the day and, naturally, we heard a lot about her patients. In the last 10 years my family as well as her friends told her to write a book or play because of how funny many of the stories are.

"Back in September, the two of us actually wrote out a project outline for the show. My mom started working with Jamie O'Reilly to help her craft the stories in her head into stories that would touch and inspire our audiences. She hadn't done any theater since high school and went through every process writers face: block, inspiration, wanting to give up, thinking the stories weren't going to be what she wanted.

"Meanwhile, I began looking for songs I believed embodied the spirit of the stories. Some ended up being stories in themselves, like "Where've You Been" by Kathy Mattea. "We'll Meet Again," from the WWII era, goes with the story of a WWII vet in hospice who always called my mom 'Honey Pie' and 'Hot Cakes.'

"Dan Stetzel, who helped me find many of these songs, is also the pianist for the show. I starting singing as early as I can remember. From first grade through high school, I was in the Oak Park school system and did shows at Beye School, with CAST at Julian as well as at OPRF. I got a Bachelor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance from the University of Michigan and since coming home have recorded a CD, Half Irish Full of Love, performed my own cabaret shows at different venues in Chicago and Oak Park and am currently singing and playing guitar with a hip-hop/folk-rock band called Steve Wik and Soul Funk."

According to one of our Viewpoints columnists, Jack Crowe, one of the creative forces behind Village Players, "Going into the show, I thought to myself, 'Well this is going to be a cheery evening.' And it was; I never laughed so hard."

The show, which was presented several weeks ago, is being reprised at Village Players Performing Arts Center, 1010 Madison St. in Oak Park on May 2 at 8 p.m. General Admission tickets are $20. More information is available at www.village-players.org or 866-764-1010.