PLAY OF THE DAY! Today's Play: A LIE OF THE MIND by Sam Shepard

During this time when productions all over the world have been put on pause, we are coming together to celebrate plays that have left their mark on theater history.

This week we will be focusing on the plays of Sam Shepard.

Today's play, A Lie of the Mind!

A Lie of the Mind is considered to be the conclusion of a quintet of Shepard's plays including Curse of the Starving Class, Buried Child, True West and Fool for Love.

A Lie of the Mind is a play in three acts, with the focus on two families whose lives are intertwined and held together by their struggle with abuse, family dysfunction and more.

A Lie of the Mind was first staged Off-Broadway in 1985. The production was directed by Sam Shepard himself. It starred Harvey Keitel as Jake, Amanda Plummer as Beth, Aidan Quinn as Frankie, Geraldine Page as Lorraine, and Will Patton as Mike. The production won the 1986 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, the 1986 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play and the 1986 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play

The show was revived Off-Broadway in 2010, directed by Ethan Hawke, starring Keith Carradine, Josh Hamilton, Marin Ireland, Laurie Metcalf, Alessandro Nivola, Maggie Siff, Frank Whaley, and Karen Young. The production was nominated for five Lucille Lortel Awards including Outstanding Revival, and two Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Director of a Play.

A Lie of the Mind was revived in the UK in 2017.