Abingdon Theatre Company will present the world premiere of The Mother of Invention this January, a new play by Academy Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award-winner James Lecesne. Leading the cast of the Off-Broadway staging will be Concetta Tomei (The Elephant Man opposite David Bowie, Cyrano).
The Mother of Invention takes an unflinching and comedic look at how one family deals with the effects of Alzheimer's. Directed by Tony Speciale—who also helmed Lecesne’s acclaimed solo show The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey—performances are set to begin January 28, prior to an official press opening February 9, in Abingdon's June Havoc Theatre.
Tomei is set to star as Dottie Nerber, a woman suffering from Alzheimer's. “When Dottie Nerber's son and daughter arrive to pack up the contents of their mother's Florida home, their conflicting memories of her collide,“ read production notes. “As the siblings unpack family secrets, they must separate fact from fiction and are forced to question the narratives of their own lives.... It asks why we tell the stories we do about the people we love, and how we live with those stories after they've been debunked.“
The complete cast also includes James Davis (The House of Blue Leaves), Dan Domingues (Locusts Have No Kings), Angela Reed (The Country Girl), Isabella Russo (School of Rock), and Orange Is the New Black’s Dale Soules.
The creative team includes Jo Winiarski (scenic design), Daisy Long (lighting design), Paul Marlow (costume design), Christian Frederickson (sound design), and Jerry Marsini (props design). Deidre Works is production stage manager.
Performances will run through February 26. The June Havoc Theatre is located at 312 West 36th Street, New York. For tickets, $55, visit abingdontheatre.org or call (212) 352-3101.
