'night, Mother was first produced in January of 1983, at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This first production received favorable reviews with many of the reviewers focusing on the honesty of the relationship between mother and daughter. William Henry, who commented on Norman's realistic dialogue in his Time review, referred to the characters' speech as "spare, suspenseful, and entirely honest." Henry continued, praising Norman's script as "miraculously free of melodrama." However, the critic credited the performance of Kathy Bates as Jessie, whose "deceptive calm gives the play its force," with elevating the production above the ordinary. Other critics also praised the cast which included Bates and Anna Pitoniak as Thelma. As further proof of the play's success, Norman was awarded the first Susan Smith Blackburn prize, which is given annually to a woman playwright, in January, 1983.

Two months later, 'night, Mother opened on...