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Wendy Wasserstein is one of the Pulitzer Prize winning American Playwrights that has had a play produced on the Broadway stage. The Heidi Chronicles opened at the off-Broadway company Playwrights Horizons in November of 1988 and then transferred over to Plymouth Theatre, now known as the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, on Broadway the following year in March of 1989. The show became an instant success with critics and the audiences loved it. It was popular with both men and women though many attempted to label it a chic script. Guests at some of the best hotels in Manhattan frequently include a trip to Broadway as part of their main trip agenda, and for those lucky individuals who were able to catch this play the Plymouth during its year and a half run were particularly lucky. In this growing age of musical oriented Broadway productions it becomes increasingly difficult for non-musical plays to get staged. And when they do, it can generally be taken as testimony to their overall quality and audience appeal.

The production was directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, who had also directed a workshop production of the Chronicles at the Seattle Repertory Theatre earlier in 1988. Sullivan directed both of the New York productions and had a great feel for how to stage Wasserstein’s work. Joan Allen starred as the original lead, whose character’s name was Heidi Holland. The production also featured Peter Friedman and Boyd Gaines, with Sarah Jessica Parker playing some of the parts in the Playwrights Horizons production. Cynthia Nixon assumed those roles when it was transferred to the Broadway stage. Other actors who appeared in this early production include Brooke Adams, Tony Shalhoub, Christine Lahti, David Hyde Pierce and Mary McDonnell. This is another great aspect of the New York stage, which is that many of the greatest and most famous actors are attracted to these productions and tourists are frequently inclined to choose a production based on the famous actor who is staring in it.