Love, Loss and What I Wore: How the Play Happened

[MUSIC PLAYING] I think that my publisher– who’s a woman– sent them a copy to ask if they would give a blurb for it. She sent it to Nora, and Nora apparently sent it back and said, this book doesn’t need a blurb. It’s– it speaks for itself. 

So she had read it– it’s short, so it’s easy to read. She had read it, and she liked it. And a year later, she wanted to option it. So she optioned it for about three years, and then she did the movie “Julia and Julie,” or vice versa. And I didn’t hear from her. 

And then when the movie came out she, thought they could do a stage play about it, because it has no plot, really, you know? And she just– it just happened. If there weren’t such wonderful women behind it, that these– the Ephrons and the actresses– I’d still be [INAUDIBLE] in New Jersey, which I am anyway. 

The first time I saw it, I was sinking on the floor in my seat. I just wanted to hide, because I was so embarrassed by it. I mean, it was surrealistic. 

The book is more than me just being a mother and grandmother. It talks about, you know, some mistakes I made and choices when I was younger, and I’d not really discussed this. It talks about, you know, the loss of my son, and I didn’t know how they would take it. But it went well. 

But it’s– now I don’t feel like it has anything, really, to do with me. I just enjoy the actresses, and they’re funny. And I sit up straight now. I want to tell everybody, hey, that’s me! You know? 

One of the wonderful things, I think, about Nora and Delia is that they keep twinking the play. And so they’re always changing a word or a line, and just to make it tighter and a little bit better. But there are certain parts of it that– they’re not particularly nice parts, but there’s one girl that’s doing a monologue, and she’s talking about how she was having a problem with her husband, and she kind of didn’t want to be married anymore, and she kind of wish she’d disappear. And she says something like, well, every time he was five minutes late– auto accident. If he coughed– TB. 

You know? I like that part. And then there’s another line about turtleneck sweaters. It’s turtleneck sleeveless sweaters. I don’t get it. Are you hot or are you cold? I mean, just– it’s funny. 

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