Theater from the Heart
About Birch Tree Productions
Theater from the Heart
Birch Tree Productions is named in honor of playwright-director-producer Lisa Rafferty’s mom, who introduced her to theater when she was 6 and they were living in San Juan, P.R. After moving back to N.J., the house in Upper Montclair had a birch tree in the front yard - a favorite for Lisa’s mom: Pat Daud, an amazing professional actress and model. Looking past the tree was the skyline of New York City, where Lisa and her mom attended many Broadway shows each year.
Birch Tree Productions creates theater from the heart, from the MOMologues Series, to documentary plays including THE LEGACY OF WELLES REMY CROWTHER, FEEDING SISTERS, NO MORE SECRETS and SHE DID ALL THAT - Betty Ford: Speaking Out, Saving Lives.
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Playwright, director, producer Lisa Rafferty creates documentary plays which celebrate the strength and resiliency of heroic women and men and writes comedies about motherhood. Her productions have appeared in New York, Boston, Grand Rapids, Los Angeles and in over 37 states and six countries.
These include ONWARD –Votes for Women, honoring the fight for women’s suffrage, at Boston Public Library; FINISH LINE, about the 2013 Boston Marathon at the Shubert Theatre; and SHE DID ALL THAT, about First Lady Betty Ford, which appeared in Michigan through the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation. For Boston Theater Company, she curated the premiere of the QUEER VOICES 10-minute play festival and created and directed the Education Tour production of BEYOND BOUNDARIES: Gender Expression in Shakespeare. Her documentary play about the hero who died in the South Tower, THE LEGACY OF WELLES REMY CROWTHER: The Man in the Red Bandanna, was presented in May 2025 at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in NYC with a cast of Broadway, Boston and first responder actors.
Her comedies – The MOMologues (1, 2 and 3), are published by Concord Theatricals, and have appeared in 26 states and six countries. She worked with composers in Boston, New York and Tel Aviv to create MOMologues the Musical, seen in NYC, Boston, and LA.
Lisa is a sought-after keynote speaker: sharing the legacy of a 9/11 hero, stories of the unforgettable Betty Ford, exploring her far-reaching work as a playwright, and her grateful experience as a breast cancer survivor. Her essays have appeared in The Boston Globe, The New York Times and the Mariner newspapers. She teaches theater classes at Bridgewater State University and is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. ​
