The play was initially produced at
Yale University in 1975, as Wasserstein's master's thesis. The play premiered
Off-Broadway in a production by the
Phoenix Theatre on November 21, 1977, and closed on December 4, 1977, after 22 performances. It was directed by
Steven Robman and performed at the Marymount Manhattan Theatre, New York. The play was revived Off-Broadway by the
Second Stage Theatre, in a production at the
Lucille Lortel Theatre, running from October 26, 1994, to January 1, 1995. Directed by Carole Rothman, the cast featured Joan Buddenhagen (Leilah).
Characters and stage cast (1977) Source: Lortel •
Glenn Close - Leilah •
Swoosie Kurtz - Rita Altabel •
Jill Eikenberry - Kate Quin •
Ellen Parker - Muffet DiNicola •
Ann McDonough - Samantha Stewart •
Alma Cuervo - Holly Kaplan •
Josephine Nichols - Mrs. Plumm •
Cynthia Herman - Susie Friend •
Anna Levine - Carter •
Alexander Scourby - Narrator (voice)
Plot summary Alumnae of
Mount Holyoke College (Wasserstein's
alma mater) meet for lunch one day in 1978 and talk about their time together in college. The play is thus a series of flashbacks to the 1972–1973 school year as seven seniors and one freshman try to "discover themselves" in the wake of
second-wave feminism. ==Film==