Marvin's Room (play)
Marvin's Room is a play by Scott McPherson. It opened in 1990 at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. The story is set in 1990s Florida and follows two sisters, Bessie and Lee, as they face a family crisis. Bessie cares for her bedridden father and their eccentric Aunt Ruth. When Bessie is diagnosed with leukemia, Lee returns home to be tested as a possible bone marrow donor. Their reunion is awkward at first because of Lee’s two difficult sons, but the sisters gradually confront their past and learn the importance of family. The play draws on McPherson’s own experiences with relatives in Florida and his partner’s battle with AIDS; McPherson himself died of AIDS in 1992 at age 33.
Marvin's Room has been produced many times. After its Chicago premiere, it played at Hartford Stage in 1990, then Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons (1991–1992). It later ran Off-Broadway at Minetta Lane Theatre in 1992 and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, in 1992. It was staged in London at Hampstead Theatre in 1993 and moved to the West End (Comedy Theatre) for a short run. It played in Los Angeles at the Tiffany Theater in 1994. A Broadway production ran at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s American Airlines Theatre from June 8 to August 27, 2017, directed by Anne Kauffman, with Janeane Garofalo, Lili Taylor, Jack DiFalco, and Celia Weston.
The play was adapted into a 1996 film, Marvin’s Room, by John Guare. Diane Keaton was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Bessie.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:18 (CET).