‘JELLO BRAIN’ a Heartfelt, Gut Wrenching Comedy by Natalie Grove

Grove’s Dark Comedy Gets 4 Shows in LA at the Mandani Before Edinburgh Fringe

JELLO BRAIN is a one-woman show written and performed by Natalie Grove that begins the day her mother moves into a memory care facility with Alzheimer’s at 55. It seems impossible as she attempts to make her mother feel at home though it’s more like, welcome to your worst nightmare. 

After last year’s sold out run at the 2024 Hollywood Fringe Festival, JELLO BRAIN returns to Los Angeles for 4 shows only before Edinburgh Fringe Festival for 21 shows. You can find tickets for JELLO BRAIN at the Mandani Theatre in Hollywood July 10-19th HERE.

Grove’s heartfelt and gut wrenching comedy is woven with anecdotes of the boundless love her mom gave to her which is what gives her the strength and ability to figure out how to care for her now. She studies the brain’s features (i.e. that it’s the texture of Jello), the alarming neuroscience of Alzheimer’s and the knowledge that her mom’s brain is shrinking inside her head. She hopes the cure for Alzheimer’s isn’t so far away and that her brain isn’t shrinking too while she avoids the phone calls from the geneticist with her test results. “Oh and you know what else is so good for the brain? Orgasms!  Does anyone have any XANAX? ”

In this 60-minute piece of theater, Natalie Grove plays herself, her mother, and 8 other characters. The genre is tragicomedy, continuously swishing back and forth between heartbreak and hilarity. 

The show is directed by Terra Mackintosh, produced by Jonah Weiland with sound design by Drew Roger Conrad and Mark Zelen.

“Written and performed with such grace, vulnerability and courage Grove’s play reminds audiences that we are more connected than not…” – Danny Gordon, Emmy Winner 

There’s an occasion of singing, a moment with dance, and another when she gets a massage. There’s a 12-foot parachute, a suitcase, and lots of rainbows. The set is minimal, but Natalie will travel to several locations across time, space, and the inner-workings of the mind. 

“This show was absolutely incredible…raw…I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see the humanity in the world.” – Romy Reiner

Writer, performer

Natalie Grove received her Bachelor of Arts in Film and Art History from the University of Michigan. In 2023, she was chosen to attend IAMA Theater Company’s (designated by Playbill as “one of 20 regional houses every theater lover must know”) Summer Actor’s Intensive, and is currently studying with Emmy Award winning casting director Danny Gordon and director Terra Mackintosh at their studio The Artist’s Space in Hollywood. Additionally, Grove was recently accepted to Columbia University’s School of Social Work, where she plans to specialize in aging. With her MSW, her goal is to create a curriculum of acting-inspired group therapy tools that address the unique circumstances of those with dementia and autism to foster connectedness. Currently, she uses these techniques in her work with neurodivergent kids and adults. One of her recent credits includes the short film, Starling Street directed by Christia Crocker, about a family coming to terms with an early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Director

Terra Mackintosh is an award-winning actress, producer, writer, and director. Her theatre acting credits include Back(RAVE Theatre Festival Award for Outstanding Performance), Salty, Grounded, Running Interference (Fringe Excellence in Ensemble Award), Bryony Lavery’s Frozen, and Fool for Love (which she also directed). She has appeared on television (Apple TV+, Netflix, HBO, NBC, CBS, Paramount+) and in multiple independent films, including I Am Like You, A Good Marriage by Stephen King, and In Defense of Wonder (Atlanta Film Festival Selection, NYU Film Festival Craft Award for Lead Actress). Additionally, Mackintosh co-wrote and produced Best Summer Ever, an “unprecedented” (Variety) and “unlike anything you’ve seen before” (Forbes) feature made with a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities. The film was awarded the SXSW 2020 Final Draft Screenwriters Award, named a New York Times Critics’ Pick, a SXSW 2020 World Premiere Selection, a SXSW 2021 Spotlight Selection, and received raves from The Hollywood Reporter, USA Today and Indiewire.

Producer

Jonah Weiland is an actor/director/writer/producer located in Los Angeles. A Hollywood Fringe veteran, he produced 2024’s critically acclaimed I’LL BE WITH YOU IN A MINUTE for Natalie Grove, which is headed to Edinburgh Fringe in 2025. In March of 2025, Weiland Directed radio legend Phil Hendrie in the sold out THE GALAXY OF PHIL HENDRIE for Theatre West in Los Angeles. In June, Weiland produced and co-starred in the new play STUCK, which has its premiere at the 2025 Hollywood Fringe.  Outside of the stage, Weiland is producing/starring in the scripted podcast BEHIND THE HERO by writer/director Joe Casey (BEN 10, BIG HERO SIX), producing and starring in the short film THE ARRANGER with writer Christopher Long (HALCYON on Amazon Prime), and has written the short film SKETCHY WHITE VAN set to film in 2026.

Madnani Theatre (Main Space) – 6760 Lexington Ave., Los Angeles. 90038

*Information courtesy Sandra Kuker PR