Cast and Creative Team Announced for the World Premiere of Richard Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair
COSTA MESA, Calif. (March 12, 2009)—South Coast Repertory’s Artistic Directors, David Emmes and Martin Benson, today announced the cast and creative team for the World Premiere of Richard Greenberg’s Our Mother’s Brief Affair, about two adult siblings who reunite to tend to their elderly mother and their astonishment to learn about her long-ago love affair. Commissioned by SCR and directed by Pam MacKinnon, Our Mother’s Brief Affair will run from April 3 through May 3 on the Segerstrom Stage. Low-priced previews are available from April 3 through April 9. Opening night is April 10. Press night is Saturday, April 11 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to Our Mother’s Brief Affair may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
“It’s always exciting for us to introduce a new Richard Greenberg play to the American theater,” said David Emmes. “This is our ninth commission in an extraordinary 18-year relationship between this steadfast New Yorker and the playgoers of Orange County.”
In Our Mother’s Brief Affair, adult siblings Seth and Abby have come together to take care of their mother, Anna, who has come close to dying more than once. But this time something is different. This time Anna has a story to tell, about long-ago Saturday afternoons, about escorting young Seth to his viola lessons at Juilliard despite his constant protestations, and about what she did while he played scales — a love affair made out of weekly matinees at a small hotel, with a man whose name is synonymous with betrayal.
Richard Greenberg received the Tony Award for his play Take Me Out and is currently represented on Broadway by The American Plan, and the recent revival of Pal Joey, for which he wrote a new book. South Coast Repertory commissioned and presented the World Premieres of Richard Greenberg’s The Extra Man, Night and Her Stars, Three Days of Rain (a Pulitzer Prize finalist and currently running on the West End), Hurrah at Last (PPF 1998), Everett Beekin (PPF 1999), The Violet Hour, A Naked Girl on the Appian Way (PPF 2005) and The Injured Party (PPF 2008). Our Mother’s Brief Affair was presented as a staged reading at SCR’s 2007 Pacific Playwrights Festival.
Pam MacKinnon returns to SCR to direct Our Mother’s Brief Affair after staging the reading at PPF 2007. She is a frequent interpreter of the plays of Edward Albee, having directed A Delicate Balance at Arena Stage; The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? at the Alley Theatre and Vienna’s English Theatre; The Play About the Baby at Philadelphia Theatre Company and Goodman Theatre; and the premieres of Occupant at Signature Theatre Company and Peter and Jerry (now titled At Home at the Zoo) at Hartford Stage Company and Second Stage Theatre.
The cast of Our Mother’s Brief Affair features Matthew Arkin (Father/Lover), Arye Gross (Seth), Marin Hinkle (Abby) and Jenny O’Hara (Anna).
Matthew Arkin’s Broadway credits include Losing Louie, The Sunshine Boys and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. His Off Broadway appearances include Dinner With Friends (Drama Desk nomination), Rounding Third, Indian Blood, You Should Be So Lucky and Moonlight and Magnolias. Film and television credits include Margot at the Wedding, Second Best, Raising Flagg, Death to Smoochy, “Rescue Me,” all incarnations of "Law and Order," “Ed,” “Third Watch,” “All My Children” and “Simple Justice."
Arye Gross appeared in the World Premiere of Donald Margulies’ Brooklyn Boy both at SCR and on Broadway. He was seen most recently in Julia Cho's The Winchester House at Theatre @ Boston Court, M. Butterfly at East West Players and the World Premiere of Chekhov X 4 with The Antaeus Company, of which he is a member and Associate Artistic Director. Films include the upcoming Grey Gardens for HBO Films, Harvest, Minority Report, Big Eden, Gone in 60 Seconds, A Midnight Clear and The Opposite Sex. Notable television guest appearances include "Law & Order" (SVU & CI) "Friends," "CSI" (Vegas & NY), "The Riches," "Grey's Anatomy," “The Practice” and “Six Feet Under.” He was also a series regular on the ABC sitcom "Ellen" and CBS's short lived "Citizen Baines.”
Marin Hinkle returns to SCR after appearing in the World Premiere of Kate Robin's What They Have last season. Her Broadway credits include Electra, A Thousand Clowns and The Tempest. She has appeared Off Broadway in The Dybbuk and Henry VIII at The Public Theater; Miss Julie at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater; and Blue Window at MCC. Marin Hinkle currently plays Judith in her sixth season on “Two and a Half Men” and played Judy on “Once and Again.” Her other television appearances include “Brothers and Sisters,” "Private Practice," “House” and “ER.” Marin Hinkle’s film credits include Friends with Money, Frequency, I Am Sam, Dark Blue, What Just Happened, She Lived, Quarantine, The Haunting of Molly Hartley and NowhereLand.
Jenny O’Hara’s Broadway credits include The Odd Couple (the female version), The Iceman Cometh, Promises, Promises, The Kid and The Fig Leaves are Falling. Her Off Broadway credits include John Guare’s New York Actor, Steve Martin’s WASP and Peter Hedges’ Good as New. Her television credits include recurring roles on “Big Love” and “King of Queens;” as well as being a series regular on “Costello,” “Life’s Work” and “My Sister Sam.” Jenny O’Hara’s film credits include Angie, Career Opportunities, Heartbeat, The Matchstick Men, Mystic River, Forty Shades of Blue and Two Weeks.
The creative team for Our Mother’s Brief Affair includes Sibyl Wickersheimer (Set Design), Rachel Myers (Costume Design), Lap-Chi Chu (Lighting Design), Michael K. Hooker (Sound Design), John Glore (Dramaturg) and Kathryn Davies (Stage Manager).
The Playwrights Circle is the Honorary Producer of Our Mother’s Brief Affair. KOCE-TV is the Segerstrom Season Media Partner. KCRW and Orange County Business Journal are the Media Partners.
Associated events taking place during the run of Our Mother’s Brief Affair include:
POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS Wednesday, April 15 & Tuesday, April 21 Discuss the play with members of the Our Mother’s Brief Affair cast during free post-show discussions led by South Coast Repertory’s literary team after the 7:30 p.m. performances on April 15 and April 21.
INSIDE THE SEASON: Our Mother’s Brief Affair Saturday, April 18, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. $12 Inside the Season is a series of interactive classes that provide a comprehensive inside look at the theatrical production process. Each two-hour class is led by School and Community Programs Director Linda Sullivan Baity and features creative personnel from South Coast Repertory’s current production. Tickets are $12 each and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at (714) 708-5555. (Tickets to Our Mother’s Brief Affair are sold separately.)
TICKETS to Our Mother’s Brief Affair can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances begin on April 3 and continue through May 3. Ticket prices range from $20 to $64. Low-priced preview performances are available from April 3 to April 9. Performance times: Previews: Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4 at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, April 5, Tuesday, April 7 and Wednesday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m.; and Thursday, April 9 at 8:00pm. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m.; and Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, educators, seniors and groups of 15 or more. There will be a “Pay-What-You-Will” performance on Saturday, April 11 at 2:30 p.m. ($10 Minimum) and an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, May 2 at 2:30 p.m.
LOCATION: South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Folino Theater Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available off Anton Blvd. on Park Center Drive.
COMING UP: Emilie – The Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life at the Petit Théâtre at Cirey Tonight (4/19 – 5/10), Pacific Playwrights Festival (5/1-3), Collected Stories (5/15 – 6/14), The Brand New Kid (5/29 – 6/14).
PHOTO EDITORS: Digital images of South Coast Repertory productions are available at www.southcoastrepertory.com/photos.html.
Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, under the artistic direction of David Emmes and Martin Benson, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theaters in the United States. Founded in 1964, SCR is committed to theater that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its education and outreach programs. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theater, SCR is renowned for its extensive new play development program, including the Pacific Playwrights Festival. Of SCR’s more than 400 productions, over 100 have been world premieres with subsequent stagings achieving enormous success across America and around the world. SCR-developed works have garnered eight Pulitzer Prize nominations with Margaret Edson’s Wit winning the prize in 1999 and David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole winning in 2007. Located in Costa Mesa, California, in 2002 SCR opened the Folino Theater Center, an expanded three-theater complex that includes the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio.
Biographies
RICHARD GREENBERG (Playwright) is the author of eight previous SCR world premieres: The Violet Hour, Everett Beekin, Hurrah at Last, Three Days of Rain (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award; Pulitzer Prize finalist; Olivier, Drama Desk and Hull- Warriner nominations), Night and Her Stars, A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, The Extra Man and The Injured Party. His play, Take Me Out, won the Tony, New York Drama Critics, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lortel Awards for Best Play. He was recently represented on Broadway by The American Plan and the revival of Pal Joey, for which he wrote a new book. Other plays include The Dazzle, The House in Town, Life Under Water and The Author’s Voice. He is a winner of the Oppenheimer Award and the first winner of the PEN/Laura Pels Award for a playwright in mid-career.
PAM MACKINNON (Director) recently directed Jason Grote’s Maria/Stuart and Bruce Norris’ The Unmentionables at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Adrian Hall’s adaptation of the Robert Penn Warren novel All the King’s Men at Intiman Theatre; Itamar Moses’ The Four of Us at The Old Globe and Manhattan Theatre Club; Roberto Aguire Sacasa’s Good Boys and True at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; David Mamet’s Romance at Goodman Theatre; and Itamar Moses’ Bach at Leipzig at Milwaukee Repertory Theater and New York Theatre Workshop. Pam MacKinnon is a frequent interpreter of the plays of Edward Albee, having directed A Delicate Balance at Arena Stage; The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? at the Alley Theatre and Vienna’s English Theatre; The Play About the Baby at Philadelphia Theatre Company and Goodman Theatre; and the premieres of Occupant at Signature Theatre Company and Peter and Jerry (now titled At Home at the Zoo) at Hartford Stage Company and Second Stage Theatre. Pam MacKinnon is an Affiliated Artist with the downtown New York City theater company, Clubbed Thumb.
MATTHEW ARKIN (Lover/Father) is making his SCR debut. Broadway credits include Losing Louie, The Sunshine Boys and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. Off Broadway appearances include Dinner With Friends (Drama Desk nomination), Rounding Third, Indian Blood, You Should Be So Lucky and Moonlight and Magnolias. Regional theater credits include The Scene at Hartford Stage, Sight Unseen at George Street Playhouse; Little Footsteps and Lost in Yonkers at Pennsylvania Stage Company; Around the World in 80 Days at The Cape Playhouse; A Thousand Clowns at American Stage Company; Two Rooms and True West at TheatreWorks; and Talley’s Folly at Bay Street Theatre. Film and television credits include Margot at the Wedding, Second Best, Raising Flagg, Death to Smoochy, Bittersweet Place, An Unmarried Woman, The Curse, “Rescue Me” (recurring), all incarnations of “Law and Order,” “Ed,” “Third Watch,” “All My Children” (recurring) and “Simple Justice.”
ARYE GROSS (Seth) returns to SCR after having appeared in the World Premiere of Brooklyn Boy, The Time of Your Life, Wild Oats, Screwball and Let’s Play Two. He was seen most recently in Julia Cho’s The Winchester House at Theatre @ Boston Court, M. Butterfly at East West Players and the World Premiere of Chekhov X 4 with The Antaeus Company, of which he is a member and Associate Artistic Director. Additional theater credits include the world premiere of David Henry Hwang’s The Silver River at Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival; The Square at Mark Taper Forum’s Asian Theatre Workshop; Room Service at Pasadena Playhouse; Three Sisters at Los Angeles Theatre Center; The Rose of the Rancho and Bandido! for El Teatro Campesino; Chicago Conspiracy Trial, Portage to San Cristobal of A.H., Love Suicide at Sheffield Barracks and Black Box with the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble; and La Bête and Sleep… at Stages Theatre Center, where he served as Artistic Director from 2000 to 2003. He is heard with some frequency on NPR and Public Radio International in dozens of radio dramas and as the host of PRI’s “Jewish Holy Days” series. Films include the upcoming Grey Gardens for HBO Films, Harvest, Minority Report, Big Eden, Gone in 60 Seconds, A Midnight Clear, Mother Night, The Opposite Sex, For the Boys, Coupe De Ville, Tequila Sunrise and Soul Man. Notable television guest appearances include “Law & Order” (SVU & CI) “Friends,” “ER,” “The West Wing,” “CSI” (Vegas & NY), “The Riches” (recurring), “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The X-Files,” “Judging Amy” (recurring), “The Practice” (recurring) and “Six Feet Under” (recurring). He was also a series regular on the ABC sitcom “Ellen” and CBS’s short lived “Citizen Baines.” Arye Gross attended UC Irvine and is a graduate of the SCR Summer Conservatory (1978).
MARIN HINKLE (Abby) returns to SCR after appearing in the World Premiere of Kate Robin’s What They Have last season. Additional SCR credits include the Pacific Playwrights Festival reading of Truth and Beauty and the NewSCRipts readings of Incendiary and Manna. Broadway credits include Electra, A Thousand Clowns and The Tempest. She has appeared Off Broadway in The Dybbuk and Henry VIII at The Public Theater; Miss Julie at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater; Blue Window at MCC; Sabina at Primary Stages; The Changeling at Theatre for a New Audience; and Wonderful Time at WPA Theatre. Some of her regional credits include Romeo & Juliet, Uncle Vanya, Ghosts, Heartbreak House, God of Vengeance, Evolution, As You Like It, Rose and Walsh and Rabbit Hole. Marin Hinkle currently plays Judith in her sixth season on “Two and a Half Men” and played Judy on “Once and Again.” Other television appearances include “Brothers and Sisters,” “Private Practice,” “House,” “ER,” “Without a Trace” and many “Law & Orders.” Marin Hinkle’s film credits include Friends with Money, Frequency, I Am Sam, Dark Blue, What Just Happened, She Lived, Quarantine, The Haunting of Molly Hartley and NowhereLand.
JENNY O’HARA (Anna) is making her SCR debut. Her stage credits include the Broadway productions of The Odd Couple (the female version), The Iceman Cometh, Promises, Promises, The Kid and The Fig Leaves are Falling. Off Broadway credits include John Guare’s New York Actor, Steve Martin’s WASP, Peter Hedges’ Good as New, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s 1993 Marathon of New One-Act Plays and Allan Miller’s The Fox. Additional theater credits include The Last Seder, Little Egypt, The Musical and The Bold Girls at The Matrix Theatre Company; The Body of Bourne at the Mark Taper Forum; Landford Wilson’s Sympathetic Magic (Valley Theatre Award) and Book of Days (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nomination) at Theatre Tribe; The Fox (Drama-Logue Award) at Roundabout Theatre Company and Back Alley Theatre; Hello and Goodbye at Yale Repertory Theatre; Little Egypt (Drama-Logue Award), Bitter Women, Chess and Tight Pants. Television credits include recurring roles on “Big Love” and “King of Queens;” a series regular on “Costello,” “Life’s Work” and “My Sister Sam;” additional credits include “NCIS,” “The Closer,” “House,” “Cold Case,” “CSI,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Six Feet Under,” “The Practice” and “If These Walls Could Talk.” Film credits include Angie, Career Opportunities, Heartbeat, The Matchstick Men (Ridley Scott), Mystic River (Clint Eastwood), Forty Shades of Blue, Two Weeks, Jonathan Toomey, How to Make Love to a Woman, Hit List and Extract. Jenny O’Hara is a founding member Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York and Los Angeles, and a member of The Matrix Theatre and Theatre Tribe companies.
Fact Sheet
OUR MOTHER’S BRIEF AFFAIR by Richard Greenberg directed by Pam MacKinnon
CREATIVE TEAM: Sibyl Wickersheimer (Set Design), Rachel Myers (Costume Design), Lap-Chi Chu (Lighting Design), Michael K. Hooker (Sound Design), John Glore (Dramaturg) and Kathryn Davies (Stage Manager).
CAST: Matthew Arkin (Father/Lover), Arye Gross (Seth), Marin Hinkle (Abby) and Jenny O’Hara (Anna).
HONORARY PRODUCER: The Playwrights Circle
SEGERSTROM SEASON MEDIA PARTNER: KOCE-TV
MEDIA PARTNERS: KCRW and Orange County Business Journal
SYNOPSIS: Tony Award winner Richard Greenberg’s new play about two adult siblings who reunite to tend to their elderly mother and their astonishment upon learning of her long-ago love affair.
TICKETS: $20-$54 previews; $28-$64 regular performances.
RUNS: April 3 – May 3, 2009
PREVIEWS: April 3 FRI at 8:00pm April 4 SAT at 8:00pm April 5 SUN at 7:30pm April 7 TUE at 7:30pm April 8 WED at 7:30pm April 9 THU at 8:00pm OPENING NIGHT: April 10 FRI at 8:00pm REGULAR PERFORMANCES: April 11 SAT at 2:30pm (Pay-What-You-Will) April 11 SAT at 8:00pm (Press Night) April 12 SUN at 2:30pm April 12 SUN at 7:30pm April 14 TUE at 7:30pm April 15 WED at 7:30pm (Post-Show Discussion) April 16 THU at 8:00pm April 17 FRI at 8:00pm April 18 SAT at 2:30pm (Inside the Season) April 18 SAT at 8:00pm April 19 SUN at 2:30pm April 19 SUN at 7:30pm April 21 TUE at 7:30pm (Post-Show Discussion) April 22 WED at 7:30pm April 23 THU at 8:00pm April 24 FRI at 8:00pm April 25 SAT at 2:30pm April 25 SAT at 8:00pm April 26 SUN at 2:30pm April 26 SUN at 7:30pm April 28 TUE at 7:30pm April 29 WED at 7:30pm April 30 THU at 8:00pm May 1 FRI at 8:00pm May 2 SAT at 2:30pm (ASL interpreted performance) May 2 SAT at 8:00pm May 3 SUN at 2:30pm May 3 SUN at 7:30pm
POST SHOW DISCUSSIONS: Wednesday, April 15 and Tuesday, April 21 Discuss the play with members of the cast following the performance.
INSIDE THE SEASON: Our Mother’s Brief Affair Saturday, April 18, 10:30am–12:30pm A 2-hour comprehensive class featuring creative personnel from the current production. Tickets: $12
BOX OFFICE WINDOW HOURS: 10am to showtime Tuesdays through Saturdays; noon to showtime Sundays; 10am to 6pm Mondays and non-performance days. American Express, VISA and MasterCard accepted. (714) 708-5555.
LOCATION: Folino Theatre Center, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa CA 92626. One block east of South Coast Plaza at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway.
