From whimsy to sadness, a woman's closet holds the all-important secrets of life.
Those secrets make up Love, Loss, and What I Wore, which is also the title of the intimate best-seller by Ilene Beckerman, adapted for the stage by the late Nora Ephron and her sister Delia.
On Oct. 10 and 17, at 7:30 p.m., the Actors Theatre Playhouse will close their 2015 season with this internationally acclaimed collection.
Sitting in front of music stands, five actresses recreate memories and colorful sketches of clothing and accessories to reveal funny, touching stories, defining for themselves --and the men who love them - life's more delightful and painful moments.
Winner of the 2010 Drama Desk Award and the Broadway.com Audience Award as favorite Off-Broadway play, Love, Loss, and What I Wore is based on Beckerman's 1995 best-seller along with recollections from several of Ephron's friends. The production was one of Nora Ephron's final creations, spawning countless community, national and international touring productions.
“The book [and the play] are really not about fashion,” Ephron wrote. “It's about the moments when we are trying to find our identity through clothes.”
Narrated by a character called Gingy whose wardrobe stirs poignant memories, a cast of characters speak directly to the audience to reveal numerous experiences in their lives that are marked by a particular item of clothing.
Memories are evoked about mothers, men, siblings, dating, marriage, motherhood, breast cancer, and more, along with less weighty topics like significant prom dresses, the challenge of high heels, and not having the right thing to wear.
Directed by Marilyn Tullgren, the production features Nancy Stephens, Nancy Groff, Heather Morrison, Debbi Reed-Savory and Sadie Fischesser.