Painting Churches is a play written by Tina Howe, first produced Off-Broadway in 1976. It was a finalist for the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[1] The play concerns the relationship between an artist daughter and her aging parents.
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In a townhouse in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, an elderly couple, Fanny (in her 60s) and Gardner (in his 70s) Church, are packing. They are moving to a beach home on Cape Cod. Gardner is a poet and Fanny is from a "fine old family." Their daughter Margaret (Mags), an artist who lives in New York, has arrived to help them pack and paint their portrait. Over the course of several days, Mags sees her role in the parent-child relationship changing.
Painting Churches, produced by Second Stage Theatre, premiered Off-Broadway on February 8, 1976 at the McGinn-Cazale Theatre, where it ran for 30 performances. It transferred to the Lamb's Theatre where it ran from November 22, 1976 through May 20, 1977 for 206 performances.
The production was directed by Carole Rothman, set design by Heidi Landesman, costumes by Linda Fisher, lighting by Frances Aronson. The show featured Donald Moffat as (Gardner Church) (first production)and then George Martin at (Lamb's Theatre), Elizabeth McGovern (Margaret Church), and Marian Seldes (Fanny Church). [2]
The play was filmed for the public television series "American Playhouse" and broadcast in 1979. The cast featured Sada Thompson, Donald Moffat, and Roxanne Hart.[3]