Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has announced the cast and creative team for A Good Day to Me Not to You. Written by Drama Desk Award-winning actor Lameece Issaq (The Public Theater’s Stuff Happens) and directed by two-time Obie Award winner Lee Sunday Evans (Signature Theatre’s Oratorio for Living Things), this deeply human and riotously funny one-woman show “opts for all-out vulnerability, dissecting the psyche as if the stage were an operating table” (The New York Times). A Good Day to Me Not to You will run March 27 – May 3, 2026, in Arena’s Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.
“What drew me to Lameece Issaq’s writing is its fearless honesty,” said Arena Stage Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif. “In A Good Day to Me Not to You, she explores the moment when the life we imagined for ourselves suddenly falls away, and we’re forced to begin again. I was compelled by the way this play holds space for both laughter and heartbreak, inviting audiences to sit with the messy, unexpected paths our lives can take — and to recognize the resilience it takes to start over.”
A Good Day to Me Not to You centers the unpredictable, topsy-turvy life of a 40-something dental lab tech whose life detonates when she gets fired and is forced to move into a rooming house headed by nuns. Amidst fending off her unhinged and sometimes deranged cohabitants, she wrestles with her unfulfilled path to motherhood and the lingering grief of her younger sister’s untimely death. Wildly candid and darkly comic, A Good Day to Me Not to You is about chasing dreams, dodging disasters, and surviving whatever the world throws your way. The play’s world premiere was produced by Waterwell in 2023, directed by Evans and starring Issaq. The Arena staging of the Waterwell production will be led by Constance Zaytoun (Hulu’s Saint X) as the Narrator, with Leila Buck (Mosaic Theater’s Hkeelee) serving as understudy.
“What an absolute joy to bring A Good Day to Arena and DC audiences,” shared Issaq. “I’m so moved by the dedication to this piece, and having our design team back in full force alongside Lee and the terrific new members of our creative team, is thrilling. I’m excited to pass the acting torch to the powerhouse that is Constance Zaytoun and for folks to experience her wit and gorgeous honesty. Though this play is entirely fictional, I wrote it while grappling with my own questions about the timeline of motherhood and the grief, hope, and unpredictability of such a journey at middle age.”
Working alongside Evans to bring this visionary work to life, the creative team for A Good Day to Me Not to You includes set designer Peiyi Wong (Classic Stage/NAATCO/Transport Group’s Bus Stop), costume designer Jian Jung (Second Stage’s Meat Suit), lighting designer Mextly Couzin (Broadway’s Job), and sound designer Avi Amon (Perelman PAC’s The Following Evening). Casting is by Raiyon Hunter, CSA. The stage manager for this production is Kate Kilbane.
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Constance Zaytoun (Narrator) is an actor, VO artist, writer, on-camera host, and producer. New York credits include And Baby Makes Seven (New Ohio Theatre); Sex Work Sex Play (28th Street Theater); Broken Hands (Theatre Row); Why We Have a Body (Blue Heron); Seen by the Dog (West End Theatre); and The Piano Men (DTW). Constance is best known for her recurring role as Dr. Norton in Saint X (Hulu). She also appeared in FBI: Most Wanted and Gossip Girl. With Marc Weitz, her partner-in-crime, she co-created Constance Cooks, an award-winning culinary comedy series. Dr. Zaytoun (!) is a published author with a Masters in feminist performance (NYU), Ph.D. in theatre studies (CUNY Graduate Center), and is a certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework. Representation: Buchwald & IFM.
Leila Buck (u/s Narrator) is a Lebanese American playwright, actor, facilitator, and educator who has performed and taught theatrical tools across the U.S., Europe, China, Australia, and 11 Arab countries. She is happy to be returning to Arena after performing her solo show Hkeelee (Talk to Me) in a limited run presented by Mosaic Theater in the Kogod in 2016. Writing/Performance: American Dreams (dir. Tamilla Woodard; Cleveland Public Theatre, Working Theater, Round House, Marin Theatre, Hartford Stage, ASU-Gammage; Drama League nomination); In the Crossing (dir. Shana Gold; The Public Theater, Culture Project, NYTW, Brooklyn Museum), Hkeelee: Talk to Me (Mosaic Theater at Arena Stage; State Dept. Speaker tour Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon). Acting: The Admission (Theater J/Studio Theatre); Aftermath (NYTW, international tour; Drama League nomination); Scorched (Wilma Theater; Barrymore Award). Publication: Stages of Resistance; Innovation in Five Acts; Etching Our Own Image: Voices from the Arab American Art Movement; Four Arab-American Plays. Alumna: Emerging Writers Group, Public Theater, NYC; TCG Fox Fellow; Usual Suspect, New York Theatre Workshop; MA, Adjunct Professor, NYU.
A Good Day to Me Not to You runs March 27 – May 3, 2026 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 Sixth St SW, Washington, DC. Tickets start at $75. Ticket prices and availability are subject to change.
Tickets are available at arenastage.org. Tickets may also be purchased through the Sales Office by phone at 202-488-3300, Tuesday through Sunday, 12-6PM, or in person at the box office, Tuesday through Sunday, 2 hours before the show begins on performance days.
Groups of 10 or more may book tickets at arenastage.org/groups or via email at groups@arenastage.org.
Arena Stage’s many savings programs include “pay your age” tickets for those aged 35 and under; military, first responder, and educator discounts; student discounts; and “Southwest Nights” for those living and working in the District’s Southwest neighborhood. To learn more, visit arenastage.org/savings-programs.
PERFORMANCE DATES:
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday at 7:30PM
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8PM
Saturday and Sunday at 2PM
Weekday matinees at 12PM on April 15, 22, 23, and 29
Southwest Night Performances: Friday, March 27 through Wednesday, April 1
Early Curtain Performance: Sunday, May 3 at 6PM
Audio-Described Performance: Saturday, May 2 at 2PM
Closed Captioning: Globetitles begins Saturday, April 4
College Night: Saturday, March 28 at 8PM
Pride Night: Wednesday, April 1 at 7:30PM
HBCU Night: Tuesday, April 7 at 7:30PM
Young Professionals Night: Saturday, April 11 at 8PM
Post-Show Conversations
Connect with the show beyond the performance at a post-show conversation on April 14 following the 7:30PM performance, and on April 23 and April 29 following the 12PM matinees.
TRAVEL: Limited parking is available in Arena Stage’s on-site garage for $22 to $40; call 202-488-3300 to purchase in advance. Drive-up valet parking is also available for $40, cash only. For more information on transportation and other parking options around the Mead Center, visit arenastage.org/parking.
ABOUT ARENA STAGE
The first racially integrated theater in our nation’s capital and a pioneer of the regional theater movement, Arena Stage was founded in 1950 in Washington, DC. Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is a national center dedicated to American voices and artists. Arena produces plays of all that is passionate, profound, deep, and dangerous in the American spirit, and present sdiverse and groundbreaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Consistently contributing to the American theatrical lexicon by commissioning and developing new plays, Arena Stage impacts the lives of over 10,000 students annually through its work in community engagement and serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000.
