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The first production was the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This was in December 1982. Robert Brustein was the Artistic Director and Tom Moore was the Director. Anne Pitoniak played Thelma Cates while Kathy Bates played Jessie. It was moved to the John Golden Theatre in New York in March 1983. It was directed Tom Moore and still had the same actors with the same roles. It was later produced by Dann Byck, Wendell Cherry, The Shubert Organization, and Frederick M. Zollo.

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The play opens up to a kitchen scene where Mama is looking for a Snowball. Jessie walks on the scene asking for old towels, garbage bags, and her dad's old gun. Mama wonders why she wants all of this but doesn't ask any questions. Mama just tells Jessie where the gun is, not knowing what her real intention was. When Jessie comes back from the attic, she tells Mama that she is going to kill herself. At first, Mama just thinks it's a joke but quickly she finds that Jessie isn't kidding and really plans on killing herself. Mama wants to call Jessie's brother, Dawson to stop all of this but Jessie convinces her not to. They spend the entire night doing what Jessie has on her list. Jessie tells Mama where everything is and how to do everything so that when she passes, Mama will be ok. Mama tries to distract Jessie by talking about other people like Agnes Fletcher, Jessie's son Ricky, and even Jessie's father. Just as Mama thought that she was getting somewhere with Jessie, she finds that Jessie is ready to leave. Franticly, Mama tries everything to keep Jessie longer by saying that she hasn't painted her nail and that Mama still doesn't know what all to do when Jessie leaves. Jessie tells Mama what to do directly after she passes and what she wants for her loved ones to have from her. Jessie then kills herself and Mama becomes hysterical and then calls Dawson, just like Jessie told her to do.

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-Alienation
-Loneliness
-Free Will
-inability to communicate meaningfully with people we love

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-late fifties to early sixties
-enjoys talking
-believes that things are the way she says the way they are
-mental sturdiness
-simple country women
-believes that life is good
-loves sweets

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-hurt
-epileptic
-deranged
-pale
-physically unsteady
-early thirties to early forties
-mentally controlled
-divorced

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Jessie Cates
Thelma Cates/Mama

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Marsha Norman