The Violet Hour was commissioned by and originally produced by South Coast Repertory, in Costa Mesa, California, and premiered there from November 5 through 24, 2002.
Directed by Evan Yionoulis, the cast featured Hamish Linklater as Seavering, Mario Cantone as Gidger, Michelle Hurd as Jessie, Kate Arrington as Rosamund, and Curtis Mark Williams as Denis.
MTC's production cast featured Robert Sean Leonard as Seavering, Scott Foley as Denis, Robin Miles as Jessie, Dagmara Dominczyk as Rosamund, and Cantone reprising his role as Gidger, and ran for 54 performances, the planned length of its subscription run.
A Studio Cast recording of a musical adaptation of the play was released by Will Reynolds (composer) and Eric Price (lyricist/bookwriter) on November 4, 2022.
The recording stars Santino Fontana (John), Erika Henningsen (Rosamund), Jeremy Jordan (Denis), Solea Pfeiffer (Jessie), and Brandon Uranowitz (Gidger).