HURLEYVILLE, NY — Most parents spend years watching their children find their own path.

Few ever imagine they will one day stand beside them on a stage.

When psychologist Dr. Howard Mase was raising his daughter, Marla, in Brooklyn, he never dreamed that decades later they would be touring together in a theatrical production inspired by their own lives.

Today, at 90 years old, Howard performs alongside his daughter in “Being Somebody,” a heartfelt evening of storytelling and music coming to the Hurleyville Performing Arts Center on Thursday, August 6.

The production is the culmination of two creative journeys that unfolded on very different timelines.

Howard spent his professional life as a psychologist and executive coach while quietly writing stories drawn from his childhood growing up in Brooklyn during the post-war glow of the 1940s and ‘50s. For more than 35 years, those stories remained tucked away in a drawer.

Marla’s creative journey took a very different path.

She didn’t launch her music career until her forties. Since then, she has released ten albums, built an international following, and established herself as a respected recording artist, songwriter, performer, and writer known for her fearless honesty and distinctive voice.

Neither imagined their creative paths would eventually converge. Then, after the death of Marla’s mother—Howard’s beloved wife of 66 years—they found themselves facing an unexpected new chapter.

Award-winning filmmaker and transformative acting coach Elizabeth Browning attended the funeral, where she first heard some of Howard’s writing. She immediately recognized its theatrical potential.

“This is a show,” she said.

Those four words set everything in motion.

At the age of 87, Howard stepped onto a theatrical stage for the very first time. Marla joined him, weaving her original songs and stories into his memories of growing up as a skinny Jewish kid in Brooklyn during the 1940s and ‘50s. Together, they created a moving conversation between two generations—one that celebrates family, resilience, dreams, and the enduring bond between parent and child.

What emerged is something audiences often describe as funny, inspiring, and surprisingly personal.

Some see reflections of their own parents. Others remember the simple yet life-changing moments from their own lives. Many leave inspired by the reminder that it is never too late—not only to pursue a dream, but to rediscover the relationships that have quietly shaped who we are.

“What touched me most wasn’t simply Howard’s courage at 90,” Browning says. “It was watching a father and daughter create something beautiful together after a lifetime of living separate stories. Their journey reminds us that some of life’s most meaningful chapters begin when we least expect them.”

Since its premiere, “Being Somebody” has received standing ovations from audiences across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Florida, touching people of all ages with its warmth, humor, music, and honesty.

“Being Somebody” will be presented for one night only on Thursday, August 6, at 7:00 p.m. at the Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre, 219 Main St..

Whether audiences come for the music, the storytelling, or simply to witness a remarkable father and daughter sharing the stage, they are likely to leave reminded that every life holds stories worth telling—and that love, creativity and new beginnings have no expiration date.

—Contributed story