Einstein’s Begonia
Music & Lyrics by Rebecca Pronsky
Book by Alexis Roblan
TIME
1955, and all time since.
(Plants do not experience time the way we do.)
PLACE
Albert Einstein's home, in Princeton, New Jersey.
A greenhouse, on the campus of Princeton University.
A roadtrip through New Jersey.
The World.
A greenhouse in Brazil.
ABOUT
When Albert Einstein died in 1955, he left behind a beloved houseplant: a begonia. In this eclectic, original new musical, Beggy – the begonia – must traverse destabilizing grief, the roller coaster of fame, and too many plant puns to learn to navigate the world without the only parent she has ever known.
Based on a true story, Einstein’s Begonia is told from the plant’s perspective. The show explores loss, theoretical physics, botany, and the search for identity.
Alexis Roblan (Book)
Originally from the rural Oregon coast, Alexis Roblan was raised on dense forests, cold beaches, and an acute sense of existential anxiety. Her plays include RED EMMA & THE MAD MONK (The Tank; New York Times Critic’s Pick), DAUGHTERS OF LOT (Edinburgh Fringe), YOU FEEL SO FAR AWAY RIGHT NOW (Finalist, O’Neill National Playwrights Conference), THE ANDREW PLAY (Thomas Barbour Playwrights Award), AND IT SPINS TWICE (FringeNYC), OURS (Finalist, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference), LILIYA (Exquisite Corpse Company), JAVELINA (Winner: Echo Theater Company New Play Competition), and SAMUEL (The Tank; Grant recipient, NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre; Finalist, Clubbed Thumb Biennial Commission; “superb” – Helen Shaw, for Vulture). Alexis has been supported and produced by theatre companies including Clubbed Thumb, New Georges, Ars Nova, The Bushwick Starr, New Perspectives Theatre Company, The Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation, Project Y, The Blank Theatre (Los Angeles). She is a member of the 2023-2024 Writers’ Room at The Geffen Playhouse.
Rebecca Pronsky (Music & Lyrics)
Featured on NPR, SiriusXM, and BBC Radio, Rebecca Pronsky spent a dozen years recording and touring as a singer-songwriter under her own name before she took up musical theatre writing. Her albums, released by Austin, TX label Nine Mile Records, include ONLY DAUGHTER (Top 10 Country Album of the Year - The Telegraph UK), DEPARTURES & ARRIVALS (Critics’ List Best of the Year - Philadelphia City Paper), and VIEWFINDER (Song of the Day - NPR Music). During her time on the road, Rebecca toured relentlessly across the US and Europe, averaging 75 shows per year and sharing stages with Grammy winners Shawn Colvin and Loudon Wainwright III. Following the 2016 election, Rebecca traded her cowboy boots for a pantsuit and wrote, produced and performed WITNESS: HILLARY’S SONG CYCLE, a one-woman cabaret piece exploring the inner world of Hillary Clinton just after her devastating election loss. The show sold out both the 2018 NY International Fringe Festival and its subsequent run at The Duplex, and was featured on WNYC’s “All of It” with Alison Stewart. Rebecca is a native of Brooklyn, NY.
