TOUCHING TRUTHS
Adobe Theater, JCC present ‘Love, Loss and What I Wore’
The Adobe Theater is collaborating with the Jewish Community Center on its latest project. The organizations will present “Love, Loss and What I Wore” on Saturday, Jan. 7.
The play was written by Nora and Delia Ephron and is based on the book by Ilene Beckerman.
It is organized as a series of monologues and uses a cast of five principal women and is directed by Phil Shortell.
“The first time I saw a production of ‘Love, Loss and What I Wore,’ each and every one of the monologues transported me instantly back to moments in my own life that all put together made me, for better or worse, who I am today,” Shortell says. “I am hoping that the truth of these stories touches each and every one of you the way they touch me, and I hope that there’s a good representation of ‘guys’ in the audience today, whether they came willingly or were one way or another forced here by their non-guy partners or friends.”
This collection of stories spans topics using clothing literally and metaphorically: poorly chosen prom dresses, unflattering, glaring lights of fitting rooms, uncomfortable shoes and short skirts.
Shortell says the play touches on the perennial plea of women everywhere who too often ask: “What should I wear?” or proclaim “I have nothing to wear.”
There are sentimental soliloquies that reflect upon disapproving moms, disappearing men, and the supportive sisters who get you through.
Shortell says a highlight of the show is a caustic piece by Nora Ephron about her perplexing relationship with purses, which appears in her popular collection “I Feel Bad About My Neck.”
The essay denounces the pocketbook, the concept of the “it” bag, and the parallel between its contents and their (dis)organization to its wearer/ owner.
“If you’ve seen this work before, you and I well understand why you came to see it again,” Shortell says. “If you haven’t seen this work before, then you are probably in for a surprise.”