Off Broadway Feature: Audrey Heffernan Meyer in “Art of Leaving”

BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE

If there’s one thing a big and diverse genre of drama (and other literature for that matter) teaches us, it’s that family relationships are, to say the least, complicated. In the best scenario, perhaps, as relationships grow and change over the long-term, one hope the outcome is like the lyric from the classic Maltby & Shire song, “Thank God when you found your new you, I  loved her, too.”

However, far more often, playwrights delve into the darker, more complex intricacies of intimacy, ranging from the epic tragedies of O’Neill or Williams to the smaller, closer-to-home dramas of Horton Foote, Paul Zindel, or Paula Vogel, to name just three in an enormous roster of dramatists who have wrestled with these topics. Many more recent pieces deal with contemporary issues, family dynamics, and reflect the line from comedienne Rita Rudner: “I’m in therapy now because I come from…a family.”

Very much in this vein is a new play running at the Signature Theater space in Manhattan through December 14 is Art of Leaving by Anne Marilyn Lucas. It’s a trenchant and closely observed piece about what happens to a woman, Diana, when her world shifts from beneath her. Her husband, Aaron, has fallen under the sway of a guru who promotes a kind of masculinity that seems to offer him the solution to the disquiet he feels in his middle age. Unfortunately, in finding himself, he wreaks havoc on three generations: his own, his parents who have been married for many years, and his son who is about to be married.

One of the intriguing elements of the play is how each of the three generations approach the notion of marriage and relationships. The older generation has stayed together “no matter what,” turning a willful blind eye to infidelities and indiscretions, to maintain stability. The younger generation is trying to define what a marriage might mean, even to the point of considering consensual non-monogamy or polyamory. (For more on these in real life, follow our sex and relationship writer Kim Adamski who explores the practicalities and pitfalls of such arrangements.)

Caught in the middle, however, are Diana and Aaron. When Aaron asks for a divorce, Diana’s world is shaken. She’s lived for him, even to the point of compromising herself, her art, and her career in order to be a “good partner.” It’s a trap in many relationships, without regard to the gender of the couple—and it’s a reflection of playwright Lucas’ own story.

Audrey Heffernan Meyer plays Diana. Meyer splits her time between a restored colonial home in Washington and New York City. Meyer notes that what’s at play here are the shifting power dynamics in a relationship, particularly one that has endured over time. Meyer recognizes that Diana in particular because of her generation (mid-late 50s) is caught in between the rigid roles of her in-laws generation and the more fluid arrangements—or at least a willingness to entertain them—of the 20-somethings. “The journey of the play,” Meyer says, “is how Diana grows and changes and becomes her own person.”

It’s not an easy trip, and in her writing, Lucas clearly has sympathy for the struggles of all the characters, both in terms of their contemporaries and in trying to understand across generational lines. It’s messy, to say the least, but as Meyer observes, “that’s why we go to the theater—to laugh, to cry, and perhaps learn something about relationships.” Certainly at the performance I saw, the audience was squarely in Diana’s corner when she made her final decision.

Fortunately, Meyer’s story is not Diana’s. She and her husband have happily negotiated the relationship terrain for many years, and they have four children, plus a (much adored) grandchild. Meyer says that the house in Washington has served as a family center and a warm retreat from the demands of Manhattan, and she delighted in creating an authentic Colonial restoration. (In our conversation, we shared some stories of that process—Heffernan working with an early 19^th Century home in Washington and my own work on an 18^th Century home in Clinton on the shoreline.)

To quote another Maltby & Shire line about relationships: “It’s never that easy, my darling, not easy at all.” One may definitely agree with that characterization, and at the same time appreciate how Lucas, Heffernan, and the rest of the top-notch cast make this very rocky situation humorous,  enlightening and deeply felt.

Art of Leaving
Pershing Square Signature Theater Center
480 West 42nd Street, Manhattan
Tues-Sat 7 p.m.; Weds, Sat, Sun 2 p.m.
$49-$129 (including fees) at Ovationtix
90 minutes, no intermission

Photo above: Audrey Heffernan Meyer (third from left) Pamela Shaw, Alan Ceppos (left), Brian Mason, Molly Chiffer, Jordan Lag (right) Photo Credit: Tricia Baron

Published November 21, 2025