“This play is not about my mother and me. We are in my parent's house and that is my mother there, sleeping in that La-Z-Boy recliner – which is where she spends most of her time because she doesn't feel well enough to get up and do other things – but, this is not about her, or about me and her.”

So opens “Well,” Lisa Kron’s utterly original comedy about mothers and daughters, adults and children, the mind and the body, social activism and the theater itself. 

Kron will recreate her Tony Award-nominated role at The Huntington Theatre, playing herself in the autobiographical show that landed on the Top Ten theater lists of The New York Times, Associated Press, Newark Star Ledger, The Advocate and others last season.  Leigh Silverman, who helmed the Broadway run, will direct. Performances are March 9 - April 8.
 
“Well” follows Lisa’s journey in, away from, and back to her family home in suburban Michigan. 

"My mother is a fantastically energetic person trapped in an utterly exhausted body,” Lisa says in the play.  “It's very confusing. Her energy level has two settings: all or nothing.  Most of the time it's nothing, but when she has a burst of energy, it's awe-inspiring. For instance, when we were very young she decided she wanted my brother and me to be raised in a racially integrated neighborhood…and then she set about to create one.”

With the help of five other actors, Lisa relives elementary school days complete with puppy love and bullies, wacky neighborhood events planned by her mother and her college-age time at a residential clinic where she was cured of allergies and discovered her independence. 

Veteran character actor Mary Pat Gleason plays Lisa’s mother, who at first does not want to be an onstage character.  But she unwittingly wrests control of the play from her daughter and the other actors reenacting Lisa’s versions of the events, to help them “get the story right.”

Huntington Artistic Director Nicholas Martin, commented, “’Well’ is unlike anything we’ve presented before at the Huntington . The minute I saw it I knew we had to produce it.  It challenges the very nature of theater while completely embracing the art form.  It’s hysterically funny, but also poignant and thought provoking.  Lisa Kron is at the top of her form and I think audiences will fall in love with her and her play -- as I did.”

Joining Lisa Kron and Mary Pat Gleason are four actors who portray several roles each.  They are: Colman Domingo, Donnetta Lavinia Grays, John McAdams, and Barbara Pitts.  (Grays and Domingo were understudies in the New York production.)

Lisa Kron has written and performed theater since arriving in New York from Michigan in 1984.  As playwright and performer, her credits include “Well,” “2.5 Minute Ride” and “101 Humiliating Stories.”  Her acting credits include roles in “The Normal Heart,” “The Vagina Monologues” and “The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told.” 

Kron is a founding member of the OBIE and Bessie Award-winning theater company The Five Lesbian Brothers, whose plays include “Oedipus at Palm Springs” (co-commissioned by Boston’s The Theater Offensive), “Brave Smiles” and “The Secretaries.”  She has received the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Cal Arts/Alpert Award and numerous fellowships and grants. Her work has received OBIE, Bessie, GLAAD Media, and L.A. Drama-Logue Awards as well as Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations.
 
Leigh Silverman directed the world premiere of “Well” at The Public Theater, a subsequent production at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in San Francisco and workshops at the Sundance Theatre Lab, Centerstage in Baltimore and the Long Wharf Theatre.  Her recent New York credits include “Jump/Cut” (The Women’s Project), “Oedipus at Palm Springs” (New York Theatre Workshop), “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” (Second Stage Theatre) and more.  She also directed “Wit” in London, “Bad Dates” in Cleveland and “How I Learned to Drive” in Louisville.
 
RELATED EVENTS:
 
March 9 & 10 — MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS NIGHT
For members of the Boston area medical community to mingle with staff, artists and each other before the 8 p.m. show.  Pre-show reception at 6:30 p.m.  Free with ticket purchase.
 
March 11 — MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS NIGHT
For members of the Boston area medical community to mingle with staff, artists, and each other before the 7 p.m. show.  Pre-show reception at 5:30 p.m.  Free with ticket purchase.
 
March 13 — MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS NIGHT
For members of the Boston area medical community to mingle with staff, artists, and each other before the 7:30 p.m. show.  Pre-show reception at 6:00 p.m.  Free with ticket purchase.
 
March 13 — SNEAK PREVIEW
Presentation by a member of the Huntington's artistic staff, featuring contextual background and production-related information, 6:30 p.m. at the theater. Free with ticket purchase.
 
March 21 — OUT AND ABOUT CLUB
For members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities to mingle with staff, artists, and each other before the 7 p.m. show.  Pre-show reception at 6 p.m.  Free with ticket purchase.
 
March 22 — ACTORS FORUM
Participating members of the cast will appear after the 7:30 p.m. performance to answer audience questions. Free with ticket purchase.
 
March 25 — HUMANITIES FORUM
Humanities Forum is a lively discussion about the issues and ideas presented in the production. After the 2 p.m. show. Free with ticket purchase.
 
April 4 — ACTORS FORUM
Participating members of the cast will appear after the 2 p.m. performance to answer audience questions. Free with ticket purchase.

For tickets and information, stop by the box office at 264 Huntington Avenue, call 617-266-0800 or visit www.huntingtontheatre.org.

-- OnStage Boston