Candace Johnson Photo by Cynthia Smalley

Perhaps this helter-skelter narrative (of a sort) is meant to reinforce the inattentiveness and hyperactivity that are signs of ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. For however compelling Johnson's condition is to her, the performance is incredibly hard to follow–especially for those of us in the audience who may also have ADHD. (Confession: I am one of those. Like Johnson, I was a very bright child who could not sit still or maintain attention–unless I was experiencing periods of "hyper-focus" that also accompany ADHD.)

The scattershot, fractured nature of Johnson's performance (she wrote the show, as well as the several songs she sings over its course) may help us to empathize with her, but it does little to provide any sort of arc to guide us through her story.

The story begins with her describing her "incredibly loving" childhood to a psychiatrist–who also has ADHD and uses colored index cards to organize his thoughts around his work with Johnson: one color for relationships, another for school, another for childhood, etc. Johnson was able to read the newspaper at age three, impressing her family, especially her grandfather, whom Johnson portrays as a toothless, stooped senior citizen shuffling around the stage.

While Johnson portrays a wide range of characters–her children, her "life coach," her abusive father, and others–there is no real hook that pulls us in and draws us through the story. Johnson jumps back and forth between several narrative devices–her leading a choir rehearsal, her appointments with her psychiatrist, and her memories of times when the ADHD let her down, as when she forgot the CD of the music she was to walk down the aisle to at her wedding!–but she never settles on one, which would go a long way toward making her story more compelling and much easier to follow.

If this review is a little disjointed I blame ADHD–both mine and Candace Johnson's

Scat-ter Brain: The Music of ADHD runs through September 13, 2025, at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley CA. Performances are Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.. (No show August 30.) Tickets are $25-$35 for general admission, and $50-$100 for reserved seats. There is a $3 service fee for each ticket. For tickets and information, please visit www.themarsh.org.