Water Mill Veteran Actor Returns to the Stage in 'Art of Leaving'

After a successful, sold-out run at the Theater for the New City, Art of Leaving, a comedy by Anne Marilyn Lucas, is returning to the stage with something for everyone to enjoy. Blending sharp wit and humor with heartfelt, emotional storytelling, the play is a must-see for theatergoers looking to escape the cyclical routine of their daily lives.

Performances at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center, which opened in October, run until December 14. The original cast is featured, including Audrey Heffernan Meyer (Diana), Jordan Lage (Aaron), Alan Ceppos (Felix), Pamela Shaw (Esther), Molly Chiffer (Caitlyn), and Brian Mason (Jason). Matthew Gehring is the director, and AH Productions, LLC, along with Margie Lou Productions, LLC, serve as producers.

Born a fourth-generation New Yorker, Ceppos lives in Water Mill and first took the Broadway stage at the age of nine. In adult life, he worked as a bagel maker, taxi driver, construction worker, beekeeper, Good Humor man, and ski instructor, but acting was always his true love. He spent a decade living in France, where he met Frédéric A. Rambaud. The two married in Southampton after same sex marriage became legal in New York in 2011. Together, they founded the New York City gift store chain, PIQ, as well as the Hamptons Honey Company.

Deemed as A Doll’s House meets Neil Simon, and inspired by Lucas’s marriage, the play offers a laugh-out-loud exploration of modern love, ultimately posing the question of what marriage looks like today in an age of reinvention and independence.

The show follows the lives of three married couples—spanning their 20s, 50s, and 70s—as they dive headfirst into love, marriage, and the chaos that ensues. From intergenerational clashes in a Jewish family to the complexities of polyamory, it’s an emotional yet lighthearted look at what it means to stay connected over time.

Unlike other shows on the Broadway and Off-Broadway circuit, Art of Leaving refuses to be confined to one genre. It’s part comedy, part drama, and all human, a balance that actor Alan Ceppos says has “a very wide appeal.”

Having built a career across television, film, and theater, Ceppos recognizes when a story resonates, and he says this one does precisely that.

“One thing that really impresses me about this show is that there’s something in it that everyone in the audience can grab onto,” he said. “Whether you’re young or old or middle-aged, everyone sees either themselves or someone they know in one of the six characters, or the situation that each one of the characters is in. It’s probably the most universally appealing piece of work that I’ve ever been involved with, and that’s what makes it stand out from any other production.”

Before moving to a more formal venue, Art of Leaving (then called Party?) was also performed as two nights of stage readings at LTV Studios in Wainscott. Both nights included audience talkbacks and served a greater purpose, doubling as a benefit for the Ellen Hermanson Foundation’s breast cancer initiatives.

“That was fabulous,” said Ceppos, “because we got an insight into how people related to the play and what the author could do to make it better.” He added that the cast and crew’s time in the Hamptons allowed Lucas to refine the work. “The play is different now than it was last year,” he added. “It’s basically the same theme, but she reworked it by listening to a lot of the comments that we received.”

One thing that did stay the same when moving to a larger venue? The team of actors who bring the six characters to life. While the directors were changed, Lucas was adamant that no matter where the play landed, the roles wouldn’t be recast.

“Many directors who had won Tony Awards wanted to do the play. They really loved the play. They thought it was very relevant for today, but they wanted to recast it,” recalled Ceppos. “We said no, and they’d go, ‘Well, what if we just change one person?’ And we’re like, ‘No, this is the cast. This is how we started, and this ensemble is going to stay together.’”

Reflecting the show’s themes of love and family, the cast has grown close, forming a tight-knit unit of their own. “It’s trite to say, but it really has become a family, and that’s very rewarding,” said Ceppos.

Ceppos has also welcomed the cast to his Hamptons home for Jewish meals reminiscent of those in the show, as well as weekend gatherings, saying the experiences have helped them build relationships beyond the stage.

“I think that’s how we bring that emotional depth to life,” he explained.

Drawing on the importance of human connection, Ceppos says there are three things he hopes the audience takes away from the show.

“I hope that first of all, they laugh,” he said. “Second of all, that they enjoy it, and third of all, that it makes them think and question who they are, what they are, and where they’re going, and what the meaning of being on this planet is all about.”

Art of Leaving is now playing at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre, 480 West 42nd Street. Tickets can be purchased at artofleavingtheplay.com.