Commissioned by SCR and directed by Pam MacKinnon, Our Mother's Brief Affair will run April 3-May 3, 2009 on the SCR's Segerstrom Stage in Costa Mesa, CA.
Opening is April 10. Tickets to Our Mother's Brief Affair can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
According to the Oct. 21 announcement, "In Our Mother's Brief Affair, adult siblings Seth and Abby have reunited to tend to their elderly mother, Anna, who has a habit of playing out periodic deathbed scenes for her children. But this time something is different. This time Anna has a story to tell, about a long-ago love affair with a man whose name is synonymous with betrayal."
The playwright will be represented on Broadway twice before the Costa Mesa premiere: the revised, Joe Mantello-directed revival of Rodgers and Hart's Pal Joey for which Greenberg has written a new book (starting Nov. 14) and the Broadway premiere of The American Plan directed by David Grindley (beginning previews Jan. 2, 2009).
South Coast Repertory commissioned and presented the world premieres of Greenberg's The Injured Party, A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, The Violet Hour, Everett Beekin, Hurrah at Last, Night and Her Stars, The Extra Man and Three Days of Rain (Pulitzer Prize finalist). SCR has also produced his play The Dazzle. Greenberg's other plays include Eastern Standard, Jenny Keeps Talking and The Maderati. A staged reading of Our Mother's Brief Affair was presented at the 2007 Pacific Playwrights Festival.
Greenberg received the Tony Award for his play, Take Me Out.
MacKinnon recently directed All the King's Men (Intiman Theatre), the world premiere production of Edward Albee's Occupant (Signature Theatre Company), John Fugelsang's All The Wrong Reasons (New York Theatre Workshop) and The Four of Us by Itamar Moses (The Old Globe). Her other credits include David Mamet's Romance (Goodman Theatre), Gina Gionfriddo's After Ashley (Philadelphia Theatre Company) and Bach at Leipzig by Itamar Moses (New York Theatre Workshop).
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Our Mother's Brief Affair is one of two world premieres to receive full productions during SCR's nationally renowned Pacific Playwrights Festival which will take place May 1-3, 2009. The world premiere of Lauren Gunderson's Emilie – The Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life at the Petit Théâtre at Cirey Tonight will be presented on the Julianne Argyros Stage April 19-May 10, 2009.
In addition to the two fully-produced plays, the weekend festival showcases five new plays commissioned by South Coast Repertory in readings and workshops and attracts audiences and theater professionals from across the country.
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Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory is under the artistic direction of David Emmes and Martin Benson. Founded in 1964, SCR "is committed to theatre 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 theatre, SCR is renowned for its extensive new play development program, including the Pacific Playwrights Festival." Of SCR's more than 400 productions, 108 have been world premieres with subsequent stagings achieving success across America and around the world.
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.
