Motherhood Out Loud: a Play Co-Conceived by Producer and Tony Award Nominee Susan R. Rose of Katonah, NY

What they don’t tell you to expect when you’re expecting is the subject of this smart, funny, and, at times, poignant look at motherhood. Making its New York premiere after a successful run in LA, Motherhood Out Loud offers a compelling look at parenthood, circa 2011, in all its messy, wild, and wonderful permutations. Co-conceived by producer and Tony Award nominee Susan R. Rose of Katonah (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Hurlyburly), this sophisticated take on a timeless topic goes way beyond the usual been-there, done-that, dirty-diaper fare. “When my daughter was preparing to go off to college four years ago,” Rose says, “it occurred to me that this was a universal theme that had never been explored theatrically.” A series of original first-person vignettes by 14 noted writers, including New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice and Pulitzer Prize winner Beth Henley, the play covers everything from parenting a boy who likes to dress up like a queen to a two-daddy couple having their first “gayby.” Performances are September 20 through October 29 at the 59E59 theater in Manhattan. For info and tickets: primarystages.org.

photo by Michael Lamont Saidah Arrika Ekulona, James Lecesne, Jane Kaczmarek and Amy Pietz in the west coast premiere of “Motherhood Out Loud” (as “In Mother Words”) at the Geffen Playhouse.