The first performance was on April 15, 1960 in the Jazz Gallery in New York City. The show was staged by Lawrence Arrick, original music by William Flanagan. The show starred Alan Helm (Young Man), Jane Hoffman (Mommy), Richard Woods (Daddy), Sudie Bond (Grandma), and Hal McKusick (Musician).
The play was produced Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre in February 1962, in repertory with other Albee plays, in a Theatre of the Absurd series.[1]
The play had several regional productions, including the Dallas Theatre Center in January 1963 starring Ruth Winchester in the lead role and the Los Angeles Theatre Company (season 1967-68). The play ran Off-Broadway, produced by The Acting Company, at the Public Theatre in March 1984, with 8 modern one-act plays, titled Pieces of Eight, directed by Alan Schneider.[2][3]
The play was produced Off-Broadway by the Signature Theatre Company in a triple bill of one-act plays by Albee: Sand, The Sandbox and Finding the Sun. The plays ran from February 4, 1994 to March 6, 1994. Directed by Albee, the cast was Peggy Consgrave (Mommy), Jane Hoffman (Grandma), Edward Seamon (Daddy), Aisha Benoir (Cellist), and Earl Nash (Young Man).[4]
The play was performed Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre in March 2008, in a double bill with The American Dream. Directed by Albee, the cast featured Judith Ivey (Mommy), George Bartenieff (Daddy), Lois Markle (Grandma), Jesse Williams (Young Man) and Daniel Shevlin (Musician).[5][6][7]
The play was produced Off-Broadway by the Signature Theatre Company in a triple bill of one-act plays by Edward Albee, Maria Irene Fornes, and Adrienne Kennedy. The plays ran from May 3, 2016 to June 19, 2016. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, the cast was Alison Fraser (Mommy), Phyllis Somerville (Grandma), Frank Wood (Daddy), Melody Giron (Cellist), and Ryan-James Hatanaka (Young Man).
The play is approximately 15 minutes long[5] and involves direct address by the actors to the audience, their acknowledgment that they are performers in a play, and the offering of cues to the musician.[8]
