Norman wrote the play in 1981, it was developed at the Circle Repertory Company, and it premiered at the American Repertory Theater with Robert Brustein in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[4] This production transferred to Broadway at the John Golden Theatre with the same cast and was directed by Tom Moore. It opened on March 31, 1983, and closed on February 26, 1984, after 380 performances. It received 4 Tony Award nominations: Best Play, Best Actress in a Play (both Bates and Pitoniak) and Best Director (Tom Moore). The Broadway cast transferred to Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre in 1984 for 54 additional performances.[5]
A US. National Tour was launched after the Broadway production closed. Phyllis Somerville, who was Kathy Bates' understudy on Broadway, played Jessie for the tour. Mercedes McCambridge was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for her performance as Mama in the Washington D.C. production.[6][7]
The first London production opened in 1985 at the Hampstead Theatre, directed by Michael Attenborough.[8] Pitoniak and Bates again starred in a 1986 production at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.[9]
The first Chicago production opened in 1986 at the Wisdom Bridge Theatre, starring Sarajane Avidon and Elizabeth Moore.[10]
A Broadway revival opened at the Royale Theatre on November 14, 2004, and closed on January 9, 2005, after 65 performances and 26 previews, starring Brenda Blethyn and Edie Falco, and directed by Michael Mayer.[11]
A Philadelphia area production opened on September 14, 2017, at the Centre Theater in Norristown, Pennsylvania, starring Allison Deratzian and Susan Blair, and directed by David Deratzian.[12]
