Tickets Are Now On Sale For THE MAR VISTA: IN SEARCH OF MY MOTHER'S LOVE LIFE, A New Play By Yehuda Hyman

Executive producers Barbara Nagel and Rosanne Braun are pleased to announce that THE MAR VISTA:In Search of My Mother's Love Life, a play with music and dance created by award-winning Brooklyn-based playwright and choreographer Yehuda Hyman, will have its premiere at the Ford Foundation Studio Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center on West 42nd Street, March 5 through March 23, 2019.

"THE MAR VISTA is a saga of my mother's romances, my father's shattered past, and the unbreakable bond between a gay American son and his immigrant parents," says playwright/choreographer Yehuda Hyman.

At the center of the story is the relationship between the playwright and his mother, Sara, a strong-willed, very funny, and deeply romantic Russian-Jewish woman with a colorful and mysterious past. A cast of six actors travels 90 years and several continents in this surprising family saga - the mysteries of Istanbul, a forbidden WWII wartime romance, a gay boy growing up in the 1960s in a family of immigrants in West Los Angeles, Greta Garbo's face, dancing till dawn in Hollywood, and above all, the enduring power of lost love.

In explaining the genesis of the piece, Hyman says, "I spent ten years trying to find a way to bring my mother's story to life then, in 2014, working on my thesis project for my MFA at Sarah Lawrence College I found the form: a union of dance and words." He received a Fellowship to LABA (a Laboratory for Jewish Culture at the 14th Street Y) to support work on the play. The Museum for Jewish Heritage and Jewish Plays Project agreed to partner with LABA, creating further vital development opportunities which culminated in a workshop, limited run of the show in December 2016 at the 14th Street Y.

Following that limited run, Hyman received an email from Barbara Nagel, who had seen the show, and wanted to discuss plans for its future. Nagel, (a non-profit lawyer and dance devotee) and her friend and colleague, Rosanne Braun, a documentary film producer, have teamed up with creative producers Allison Bressi and Madeleine Goldsmith to bring The Mar Vista in a fully-realized production to The Pershing Square Signature Center on 42nd Street.

"When I first saw The Mar Vista: In Search of My Mother's Love Life at the 14th Street Y a year ago, I was so moved by the experience, I did something I have never done before in my life," explains Nagel. "I sought out the playwright to tell him how much his play meant to me - and decided right then that I wanted to help him bring this play to a wider audience."

The cast for The Pershing Square Signature Center production features Yehuda Hyman, Amanda Schussel, Ron Kagan, Ryan Pater, Jacob Perkins, and Ezra Bloom. The creative team includes Amy Page (costume design), Lewis Folden (scenic consultant), Zach Blane (lighting design), and Ezra Bloom (sound design). The production team includes Will Jennings (production management), Kate Wilson (production stage manager), Katherine Boener (assistant stage manager) and Adin Walker (associate director).

Tickets can be purchased through Ticket Central (ticketcentral.com), by calling (212) 279-4200, or in person at 416 W. 42nd Street (12-8:00 pm daily). The performance schedule is Tuesdays through Fridays at 8:00 pm; Saturdays at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2:30 pm. General admission: $35. Student tickets are also available.

The Pershing Square Signature Center, the permanent home of Signature Theatre, is a three-theatre facility on 42nd Street designed by Frank Gehry Architects to host Signature's three distinct playwrights' residencies and foster a cultural community. The Center is a major contribution to New York's cultural landscape and provides a venue for cultural organizations that supports and encourages collaborations among artists throughout the space. In addition to its three intimate theatres, the Center features a Studio Theatre, rehearsal studio, a bookstore, and the Signature Café + Bar, open to the public from noon to midnight Tuesdays -Sundays. For more information on renting the Center, please visit www.signaturetheatre.org/rentals.