Marilyn, Mom & Me

by Luke Yankee

In 1956, when Marilyn Monroe was cast as the lead in the film "Bus Stop", she was the biggest star in the world. She had taken the previous year off to study with Lee Strasberg and had become the poster child for “method” acting. The tough, no-nonsense, Broadway character actress Eileen Heckart was cast as her best friend in the movie. As a part of her newly discovered style of acting, Marilyn was determined...

In 1956, when Marilyn Monroe was cast as the lead in the film "Bus Stop", she was the biggest star in the world. She had taken the previous year off to study with Lee Strasberg and had become the poster child for “method” acting. The tough, no-nonsense, Broadway character actress Eileen Heckart was cast as her best friend in the movie. As a part of her newly discovered style of acting, Marilyn was determined to make Heckart her best friend – both on-screen and off. Reluctantly, Heckart went along with it for the sake of the film and found herself emotionally entrenched in the life of Marilyn Monroe. For all outward appearances, Marilyn had it all. And yet, more than anything, she yearned to have what Heckart took for granted: a stable marriage, two kids and a respected Broadway career.

Forty-five years later, Heckart’s middle-aged gay son, Luke, is trying to unravel his mother’s relationship with Monroe in order to better understand his own path with this highly critical, caustic, yet loving woman. Why did his mother burst into tears every time someone mentioned Marilyn’s name? Clearly, she’d had a deep impact on Heckart. If Luke could get his Mom to open up about Monroe, maybe it would make her a more sympathetic mother – or at least help him to connect with her on another level.

This deeply personal comic drama explores a side of Marilyn Monroe no one has ever seen before by focusing on her craft as an actress as well as her friendship with another woman. It also shows a caring, yet highly complex mother/son relationship explored through the lens of one of the greatest film stars the world has ever known. The play utilizes the chaotic world of movie-making in 1950’s Hollywood to uncover universal truths about love, acceptance and what it really means to feel loved and wanted.

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Marilyn, Mom & Me

Recommended by

  • Philip Middleton Williams: Marilyn, Mom & Me by Luke Yankee
    “

    Full disclosure: I had the privilege of meeting Eileen Heckart (and doing a scene with her) at the Inge Festival, and I've known Luke Yankee for over twenty years. But this play reveals more about both of them and the enigmatic and illustrious Marilyn Monroe than I ever knew, and I'm grateful for it. The story, told as memory and recollection, brings these characters to life in ways that only someone who knew them and who knows so well how to write them. It is an intimate look into the very real life of legends and done beautifully.

    Full disclosure: I had the privilege of meeting Eileen Heckart (and doing a scene with her) at the Inge Festival, and I've known Luke Yankee for over twenty years. But this play reveals more about both of them and the enigmatic and illustrious Marilyn Monroe than I ever knew, and I'm grateful for it. The story, told as memory and recollection, brings these characters to life in ways that only someone who knew them and who knows so well how to write them. It is an intimate look into the very real life of legends and done beautifully.

    ”
  • Pam Munter: Marilyn, Mom & Me by Luke Yankee
    “

    In a perfect companion piece to his earlier "Diva Dish," Luke Yankee has written a layered, affecting exploration of his complicated relationship with his famous mother, Eileen Heckart. Her brief relationship with Marilyn Monroe during "Bus Stop" serves as a provocative catalyst but she's not the star here. Film fans will love it but so will anyone fascinated by the nuances of growing up with a famous parent.

    In a perfect companion piece to his earlier "Diva Dish," Luke Yankee has written a layered, affecting exploration of his complicated relationship with his famous mother, Eileen Heckart. Her brief relationship with Marilyn Monroe during "Bus Stop" serves as a provocative catalyst but she's not the star here. Film fans will love it but so will anyone fascinated by the nuances of growing up with a famous parent.

    ”
  • Doug DeVita: Marilyn, Mom & Me by Luke Yankee
    “

    When one’s mother is an Oscar-winning character actress who has worked with nearly every star from the Golden Age of Hollywood — including the legendary Marilyn Monroe — how can one not share that story? But what emerges most clearly in Luke Yankee’s tender remembrance of his mother Eileen Heckart’s relationship with the troubled Monroe during the filming of “Bus Stop,” is Heckart’s brash self-confidence masking a deeply vulnerable pain that ran nearly as deep as Monroe’s. Don’t expect a salacious Hollywood tell-all. Do expect a touching portrait of a son searching for his mother.

    When one’s mother is an Oscar-winning character actress who has worked with nearly every star from the Golden Age of Hollywood — including the legendary Marilyn Monroe — how can one not share that story? But what emerges most clearly in Luke Yankee’s tender remembrance of his mother Eileen Heckart’s relationship with the troubled Monroe during the filming of “Bus Stop,” is Heckart’s brash self-confidence masking a deeply vulnerable pain that ran nearly as deep as Monroe’s. Don’t expect a salacious Hollywood tell-all. Do expect a touching portrait of a son searching for his mother.

    ”

Development History

  • Reading, Southwest Theatre Productions - Austin, TX, 2021
  • Reading, Broadway Cares, 2021
  • Reading, Manhattan Theatre Club Studio, 2020
  • Reading, Claire Trevor School of the Arts - UC Irvine, 2020
  • Reading, The Actor's Fund, 2020
  • Reading, Stella Adler Theatre, 2019

Awards

  • Best Play
    Writer's Digest Play Competition
    Winner
    2021
  • Rising Artists Sponsor's Choice Award
    Southwest Theatre Productions
    Winner
    2020