RAHWAY, NJ — The premiere reading of “The Willows” is coming to Hamilton Stage on Tuesday, June 3, at 7 p.m.
American Theater Group, in partnership with the Union County Performing Arts Center, will present the premiere reading of Sharyn Rothstein’s “The Willows” as part of its free Play Reading Series. The reading will be directed by Chris O’ Connor.
“The Willows” is set in an assisted living facility after the first hard year of the pandemic. It’s a humorous, heart-filled story about mothers and daughters, unexpected friendships and learning to listen to – and love – the people in our lives we may not agree with.
Rothstein wrote the play in 2022, even as the pandemic was peaking. “It was still surging, and no one knew what the future would bring,” she said. “What happened here? Everyone had a different level of comfort and was reading different news. I lost an uncle in the early days of COVID. He was recovering in a rehab, passing all by himself. What did we do right? What did we do wrong? I wanted to write a play that explored it with humor, with a lot of heart. I’m a big believer in plays that look at gray areas, not black and white.”
Continuing, she said, “It’s a play about four women coming together during a time when we were really forced to be separate from each other and examining those choices with a lot of humor. I’m always looking for what’s the most human version of the story. How do I make it more personal? Who doesn’t know or love someone who is in an assisted living facility? I tried to honor that.”
The challenge of writing the play was that culturally, COVID-19 was so painful that people didn’t want to look at it. “I don’t want to say there’s a collective amnesia,” said Rothstein. “It was so traumatic, people are desperate to move on.”
But moving on would mean failing to honor all the people who lost their lives – and all the doctors and nurses, says Rothstein, who feels just talking about it is a challenge.
For many, humor pulls them through rough times, and Rothstein said she doesn’t have anyone in her family who deals with catastrophe without a joke. “I love writing funny, complicated roles for women of all ages,” she said.
And with her main character getting on in years, it was also a challenge to find an older actor who still wanted that challenge.
Rothstein, who teaches TV writing at New York University, spends her free time with her husband and two children. “We’re a big movie family,” she said. “We cram as many movies as we can in a weekend.” They also like to travel and went to Tokyo earlier this year.
“The Willows” cast will feature Betty Aberlin, “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood”; Helen Farmer, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; Rebecca Mozo, American Rep’s “Becoming a Man”; and Annie McAdams, Broadway: “Slave Play.”
To learn more about Hamilton Stage, visit: https://ucpac.org/hamilton-stage/.
Photo Courtesy of ATG