DAN'S PAPERS, July 24, 2009 Page 59 www.danshamptons.com
Arts & Entertainment A Look at Motherhood from All Sides Stein “got all sorts of views from single moms, working moms, step-moms, mothers who adopt, moms who have a child with special needs, first-time moms, empty nesters, grandmothers, and motherin-laws.” “We drew from the best playwrights, novelists, television and film writers, and essayists, to create an evening that exposes all the experiences of the journey of motherhood,” Stein added. Both Stein and Rose connected with the contributing writers,
who they feel will also connect with the audience. The two say that this play is not just for women – men can relate to it, too, since they have had mothers, mothers-in-law, grandmothers and wives. Three of the pieces were written by men. For tickets to this staged reading at the Parrish Art Museum on July 30 and 31 and August 1, at 8 p.m., which are $40, call the Bay Street Box Office at 631-725-9500, or go in person to the box office, open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Samantha Mathis By Debbie Tuma Motherhood is explored in all aspects in the bold and moving new play, Motherhood Out Loud, conceived and produced by Susan Rose and Joan Stein. Also produced by Renee Landegger and Judith Resnick, this work-in-progress will premiere July 30-August 1, as part of Bay Street Theatre’s 2009 “Bay Street at the Parrish” season. Tracy Mitchell, general manager at Bay Street, said a new, 99-seat house is being created at the Parrish Art Museum, with café-style tables and chairs, and beer and wine available for purchase. The Parrish is redoing a room once used for films and lectures to accommodate this new theatre stage. “This is our first production with the new partnership of Bay Street Theatre and the Parrish Art Museum,” said Mitchell. “We’re very excited to work together and have the opportunity for a developmental second stage. It allows us to produce new works that we can’t do in the summer at our 299seat house. We need to produce viable shows for a smaller theatre, and this one will work out great,” she said. This production of Motherhood is directed by Lisa Peterson, whose credits include an Obie Awardnominated production of Shipwrecked in New York City. Some of the featured actors in the show include Samantha Mathis, Carson Kressley, Margo Martindale and Saidah Arrika Euklona. The idea for Motherhood Out Loud, written by over 15 writers from around the country, came to Rose when she saw the play Bridges and Tunnels, about the immigrant experience. “I thought, what’s another universal theme which has not been touched upon theatrically, and I came up with motherhood. I always wanted to be a mother, and when I finally gave birth to my daughter, now 19, I realized how much I enjoyed this experience and how much there was to say and share about it, from other people’s varied experiences,” she said. Rose, of Katonah, New York, called her long-time friend and co-creator, Stein, of Los Angeles, and said, “Wouldn’t it be great to get lots of different experiences of motherhood from different writers?” Rose brought Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat from the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C. to Broadway. She and her partner, Gail Berman brought Hurly Burly to Broadway, directed by Mike Nichols. Stein, raised in Oceanside, L.I., ran the Canon Theatre in L.A., won a Tony Award for producing Side Man, and produced Steve Martin’s play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile. In producing Motherhood, Rose said she and 1197380