Before You Know It

Packed into a cozy apartment above the small independent theater they run in New York's Greenwich Village, resides the quirky Gurner family. Living with her eccentric playwright father (Mandy Patinkin) and an impassive preteen, all responsibilities seem to fall upon the sturdy shoulders of pragmatic Rachel. After a traumatic event, Rachel and her kooky older sister, Jackie, discover that the mother they thought was dead (played with great delight by Judith Light), is actually alive and well and starring in a long running soap opera. Now in the midst of familial upheaval, Rachel desperately tries to right the sinking ship and maybe even fix her own life. Wearing numerous hats, the director, star and co-writer, Hannah Pearl Utt shines in each role she undertakes, displaying a sincerity and great eye for balancing a riot of characters and well-placed narrative beats. Dipping its toe into the daring waters of soapy melodrama, while never falling into its numerous pitfalls, Before You Know It, pulls off a melodic blend of genres that encapsulates what it means to be a young adult in this modern era of arrested development. - Hayleigh Thompson

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98