From The Storm to The Breeze

Comedian and actor Tom Nemec has a story to tell. It’s a deeply personal one, but judging by the response at The Tank theatre as he told it in his one-person show, one that resonates far and wide.

One of the first things Nemec does upon taking the stage is to invoke his childhood self, calling for his mom. “This is the way I entered my childhood home my entire life,” he explains. “Screaming ‘Mom!’ often before I even got through the front door.” He shows a picture of the home, in Lyndhurst New Jersey (“Gateway to the Meadowlands,” he quips before adding, “I hated that house.”)

Over the course of an hour, A Cat in a Box reveals what happened in that house as Nemec and his three siblings grew up in the 1970s; and as these events unfold to us, Nemec bares his soul and shares his life. It was a childhood of dysfunction and isolation, of alcoholism and emotional and physical abuse.

Nemec warns early on not to expect any funny or sentimental anecdotes. “When most people hear the word ‘family’ they think love, stability, support,” he notes. “But that’s not the definition. That’s an ideal…My family was just a group living together as a unit.”

He hated the family photo that hung on the wall as much as the building that housed it, as it was a lie. “That was not us,” he observes. “But I continued to pretend it was for a long time.”

Nemec’s recollections are raw, and no punches are pulled. He speaks of nights that would end with Nemec’s severely inebriated father banging on the door, demanding to get in. “I’d just wish he’d wander off to someone else’s house and never bother us again,” Nemec admits. He is nostalgic for the Christmas holidays because “no matter how bad things were at home, everyone was in a slightly better mood (and besides I kind of believed in Santa Claus”). Though he concedes that any gifts were “more like an obligation wrapped in a bow.” He reveals sadly that his father’s addiction overshadowed his mother’s behavior, which was often accompanied by violence.

The audience was captivated by Nemec’s every word. One could almost picture themselves in that Lyndhurst home, so vivid is Nemec’s recollection and expert storytelling. The most moving part of his tale is his journey to adulthood and his path to reconciling with the past and conquering his own demons. He last entered that house in the year 2000, and is now not only an accomplished actor and comedian, but a teacher, helping young children make their first steps into life in a healthy, nurturing environment.

A brief Q&A after the performance revealed that many in attendance saw a lot of their own childhood in Nemec’s. For a moment, we were united in our collective experience, and in our resolve to heal; and to paraphrase Nemec’s powerful closing statement, “to see the breeze as our friend.”

A Cat in a Box is directed by Jim Mendrinos is performed at The Tank through November 8, 2025. For more information, visit https://thetanknyc.org/calendar-1/a-cat-in-a-box