EXCLUSIVE: A new play by Wallace Shawn, directed by André Gregory, will be produced Off Broadway by Scott Rudin and Barry Diller, the producers announced today. Hope Davis, Maria Dizzia, John Early and Josh Hamilton will star.
What We Did Before Our Moth Days will begin previews at the Greenwich House Theatre on Wednesday, February 4 2026, ahead of a Thursday, March 5 2026 opening night.
The synopsis: “What We Did Before Our Moth Days is set in an urban world of intelligent and somewhat gentle middle-class people – a father, mother, son, and the long-time mistress of the father who tell the intimate story of their lives. Mr. Shawn, a student of morality whose plays have brought us frank truths about politics and sexuality, takes on the subject of love – suffocating and freeing – and the kaleidoscopic journeys we make through remorse, sorrow, resentment, and joy. Mr. Shawn and Mr. Gregory have created a work that is as strange, and at times hilarious, as My Dinner with André.”
The project marks the latest in a years-long collaboration betwee Shawn and Gregory. They first teamed up in 1975 when Gregory directed Shawn’s play Our Late Night at The Public Theatre. Among their film collaborations are 1981’s My Dinner with Andre (co-written by and starring the two men); and Vanya on 42nd Street (1994), a filmed adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. In 2000, Gregory directed the New York production of Shawn’s The Designated Mourner, produced by Rudin.
In a statement, Shawn said, “We don’t understand ourselves, and we don’t know why we do what we do. Ideally, then, dangerous weapons should be kept out of our hands at all times, but in romantic, sexual, and familial relationships we carry the weapon of our own feelings strapped to our chests whether we like it or not. This is a play about four intelligent and thoughtful people – mother, father, son, and father’s mistress – living in a somewhat violent but sophisticated city.”
Added Gregory, “My life in the theater has often been my life with Wally Shawn. I have been his acting teacher, his collaborator, his director, his friend. We have done plays together and we have done films together. We have been partners for over half a century. And with his new play, What We Did Before Our Moth Days, we are continuing the tradition. We are still going strong. Together.”
The design team for What We Did Before Our Moth Days includes scenic design by Riccardo Hernández, costume design by Ann Roth, lighting design by Jennifer Tipton, with sound design and original music by Bruce Odland.
The play marks the second to be produced by Rudin and Diller following Rudin’s return to the industry after stepping aside four years ago amidst accusations from his staff of bullying and aggressive behavior. The Rudin-Diller production of Little Bear Ridge Road begins previews at Broadway’s Booth Theatre on October 7, with an official opening of October 30. Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock star, with Joe Mantello directing.
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