THE YELLOW WALLPAPER

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: HELENA MUELLER

Content Advisory: This production contains depictions of mental illness and references to suicide.

After the birth of her second child, Jane wrestles with recovery. In a house meant for rest, something begins to shift. Memory blurs. The walls whisper. And silence grows loud. A modern adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story of the same title. 

“If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but a temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency - what is one to do?” - Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper, (c.1892)

Women’s health has always been treated as secondary - less urgent, less credible, less worthy of time and research. You can see it in how long it takes women to get a diagnosis, in the words so often used to describe our pain, and in the studies that assume male bodies as the default. But nowhere is this more clear, or more heartbreaking, than in the experience of becoming a mother.

In 2024, the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. was 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births. For Black mothers, that number was more than twice as high. For comparison, Chile’s rate is 14.3. The UK’s is 5.5. In Norway, it’s so low it rounds down to zero. And it’s estimated that 80% of maternal deaths here could be prevented.

In 1892, Charlotte Perkins Gilman saw the same disregard, both in her own care and in the care of the women around her. Her writing gave voice to women who were dismissed, silenced, and told that what they feel isn’t real. If only we had listened.

I have adapted her short story The Yellow Wallpaper and placed it within the present day, allowing us to explore how stigma, under researched care, and an unwillingness to listen continue to harm women, especially mothers. I hope this show encourages you to hug the moms in your life a little tighter. And for the women in the audience, I hope it empowers you to be vocal about your health, mental or physical, and to always trust your gut.

- Helena Mueller

PLAYWRIGHT’S NOTE

HELENA MUELLER

Helena Mueller is a playwright, director, and performer originally from Wisconsin and now based in NYC. She holds a BA in English and Theatre from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and an MA in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. As Executive Director and a founding member of MAD Company, she has written and produced two original adaptations—Frankenstein and A Christmas Carol.

Helena is passionate about crafting female-centric stories that challenge tradition, reclaim narrative power, and illuminate the past.

CAST

  • SARA BENEKE

    JANE

  • AUREA TOMESKI*

    JENNIE

  • MARCO ADIAK VOLI*

    ADAM

  • NATASHA JAIN

    OBSTETRICIAN

  • JORDAN ASHLEY GRIER*

    LABOR & DELIVERY NURSE

  • NATASHA CONTI

    MIDWIFE

  • JENNY RICH

    READER

*Equity Member appearing with permission of Actors’ Equity Association without benefit of an Equity contract in this Off-Off Broadway production.

Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), founded in 1913, represents more than 50,000 actors and stage managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. The Equity emblem is our mark of excellence. www.actorsequity.org