World Premiere of A MOTHER – new play by Neena Beber, starring Jessica Hecht, Fergie Phillipe

Baryshnikov Arts launches its milestone 20th Anniversary Season with the world premiere of A MOTHER, a bold and innovative new play co-conceived by award-winning playwright Neena Beber and Tony-nominated actress Jessica Hecht. Inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s 1932 play Die Mutter, this groundbreaking production runs from March 29 to April 13 at the Jerome Robbins Theater in Baryshnikov Arts (450 W. 37th Street), with an official press opening on April 7. Directed by Maria Mileaf, with choreography by Shura Baryshnikov and musical direction by Mustapha Khan, A MOTHER runs approximately 100 minutes with no intermission.

Starring Jessica Hecht, Fergie Philippe (Hamilton, Beauty and the Beast), Zane Pais, Portia Johnson, Delilah Napier, and additional cast members to be announced, A MOTHER breathes new life into Brecht’s seldom-performed classic, infusing it with deeply personal storytelling. Part documentary, part autobiography, and part disco, the play follows protagonist Jess as she navigates first love against the backdrop of racial tensions sparked by the Arthur Lee McDuffie riots in 1970s/80s Miami. Blending movement, music, and theatrical innovation, A MOTHER explores loss, resilience, and transformation in a way that is both intimate and universal.

The production’s evocative soundscape—woven with classic ‘70s disco, gospel, reggae, and Jewish music—also features original compositions by William Kenneth Vaughan, Norman (Skip) Burns, and Emmy-winning film director Mustapha Khan. Beber describes the music as “essential to the fabric of A MOTHER,” immersing audiences in the era’s cultural pulse.

A MOTHER was born from Beber and Hecht’s long-held desire to collaborate, sparked by Hecht’s discovery of an old copy of The Mother in a used bookstore. Their shared upbringing in the Jewish faith and in Miami during the political and racial unrest of the early ‘80s deeply influenced the play’s themes.

Drawing striking parallels between Brecht’s era—when Hitler was rising to power—and today’s political climate, Beber states, “The threat of authoritarianism and its abuses was the context that drove the writing then, and what drives us now, along with the community-building that was integral to Brecht’s particular brand of theater-making.”

Tickets for A MOTHER’s limited 16-show run at Baryshnikov Arts and more info about additional talks and events are available now at: baryshnikovarts.org.