The big city tabloids call her the “Red Flame of New York,” a beautiful, young Communist whose fiery speeches are as hot as the tight, red dresses she wears on stage. But Martha loses this glamorous life when she is sent to Schenectady under orders to marry Milo Milwaukee, the diminutive leader of GE’s largest union. What Martha and the Communists don’t realize is that Milo is only pretending to be a Red. In the spring of 1950, this is a dangerous game because Communism is Public Enemy Number One.
Warnings are everywhere: from anti-Communist bubble gum cards to Loyalty Boards investigating people for “suspicious” behavior. Soon Joseph McCarthy will bumble his way to Schenectady, searching for hidden communists like Martha, and even fakers like Milo. Killing McCarthy may be their only way out if Martha and Milo don’t kill each other first.
“When Mommy Was a Commie” is a hilarious romp through Schenectady in the early 1950s, inspired by the outlandish, real-life episodes that took place during the Red Scare, America’s spy war with Russia, and the Cold War that continues today.
"I had much fun reading this fictionalized account of the crazy days in America during the Red Scare of the early 1950s. The story is set mostly in Schenectady, but it does move around to parts of Europe and Washington, D.C. and includes appearances by J. Edgar Hoover and Sen. Joseph McCarthy. The main story centers on Martha, a beautiful young communist who is sent to Schenectady under orders to marry a G.E. union leader, Milo Milwaukee, who she believes is another communist. Sorensen, who once wrote for the Daily Gazette in Schenectady, has done extensive research to bring this time alive and has written a hilarious story that perfectly captures the insanity of the time. The story had a “Dr. Strangelove” feel to it with so many zany characters." -- Albany Times Union
