Works Starring Jessica Hecht, Marisa Tomei, and More Will Come to Baryshnikov Arts This Spring

New productions featuring Jessica Hecht, Marisa Tomei, Christopher Abbott, and more are coming to Baryshnikov Arts this spring. The company will kick off its 20th Anniversary Spring Season with A MOTHER, a new play written by Neena Beber and co-conceived by Beber and Jessica Hecht.

Directed by Maria Mileaf with choreography by Shura Baryshnikov and musical direction by Mustapha Khan, A MOTHER will begin performances Saturday, March 29 and run through Sunday, April 13, with an official press opening on Monday, April 7. The cast features Jessica Hecht, Zane Pais, Portia-Johnson/">Portia Johnson, Delilah Napier, and others to be announced.  

A MOTHER is a groundbreaking theatrical event that not only pays homage to Bertolt Brecht’s powerful, seldom-performed play, but also breathes new life into it through a contemporary lens. Part documentary, part autobiography, part disco, this production is an evocative and personal journey conceived by long-time collaborators Hecht and Beber. Through a multilayered approach, combining heartfelt storytelling and a soaring blend of disco, gospel, reggae, and Jewish music, led by music director Mustapha Khan, the play creates a visceral experience of loss, resilience, and transformation. A Mother is set against the vibrant backdrop of 1970s/80s Miami and places the protagonist Jess’ story of first love in the broader historical context of the race riots following Arthur Lee McDuffie’s murder by police officers. (Run time will be approx. 100 minutes with no intermission.)

A MOTHER will feature music by Composers Mustapha Khan, William Kenneth Vaughan, and Norman (Skip) Burns with Music Direction by Khan. Set design will be by Neil Patel; costume design by Katherine Roth; and lighting design by Matthew Richards. The show is produced in partnership with producers Lana Russell and Susan Kaplan in association with The Orchard Project, which supported A MOTHER in its labs in 2020.

In April, Baryshnikov Arts will present SISSY, a modern-day reimagining of Sisyphus written, choreographed, and directed by Celia Rowlson-Hall. For three performances only, SISSY will play April 24–26 at 7:00 PM.

The cast features Christopher Abbott, Ida Saki, Alia Shawkat and Marisa Tomei with dancers Jesse Kovarsky, Nando Morland, Aliza Russell, and Jacob Thoman. 

SISSY is a modern-day reimagining of Sisyphus, expressed through dance and explored from a female perspective, taking place between the worlds of a theater and a miles-long rock quarry. But this isn’t just any woman, and this isn’t just any rock—it is a rock by day, the moon by night, and a disco ball for special occasions. And each day Sissy must push it up the giant quarry which becomes deeper and more vast every time we extract more of the earth away. Not to mention, she’s pregnant. As Sissy’s belly grows, so does the story, and the dance weaves the imaginary world of SISSY into the real-life world of the theaters’ performers and its director, a new mother grappling with caring for her ill father and her baby boy. This piece beautifully and creatively explores the Sisyphean tasks and challenges of motherhood, being an artist, a performer, a daughter—and how our approach to them is the only thing within our control. With overlapping worlds where the imaginary and the real struggle for attention—SISSY is part dance, part theater, and part personal essay with elements of film—it is a beautiful beast of its own making and expression. (Run time: approx. 70 minutes, no intermission.)

The final show of the spring Anniversary Season will be an evening-length immersive co-production celebrating two milestone anniversaries of Baryshnikov Arts and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s—20 and 50 years, respectively—on Thursday, May 8 at 7:00 PM. This unique world premiere, a co-production with Baryshnikov Arts and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, will feature Vivaldi’s iconic THE FOUR SEASONS interspersed with recorded sounds of nature, Angélica Negrón’s Marejada, and Anna Clyne’s Woman Holding a Balance, with lighting design by Jennifer Tipton, a MacArthur fellow and one of the most renowned designers for dance, opera, and theater.

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