Estranged sisters Lee and Bessie have never seen eye to eye. Lee is a single mother who's been busy raising her troubled teenage son, Hank. Bessie's got her hands full with their elderly father and his soap opera-obsessed sister. When Bessie is diagnosed with leukemia, the two women reunite for the first time in 18 years.

"Marvin's Room" had its World Premiere at The Goodman Theatre in Chicago, IL on February 19th, 1990 and had its New York premiere, Off Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on November 15th 1991, with a cast that included Lisa Emery as Lee, Laura Esterman as Bessie, Mark Rosenthal as Hank and Alice Drummond as Aunt Ruth.