LOVE, LOSS and WHAT I WORE Makes Its Milwaukee Premiere at the Marcus Center’s Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall March 13-15

LOVE, LOSS and WHAT I WORE Makes Its Milwaukee Premiere at the Marcus Center's Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall March 13-15 1 Produced by Minneapolis based Troupe America, Inc. for a 2015 national tour, Love, Loss and What I Wore was initially presented as a part of the 2008 summer series at Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York, and then as a benefit series in the DR2 Theatre in New York in early 2009. Later the same year, the show was produced off Broadway as an ongoing commercial theatrical production at the Westside Theatre in New York, where it continued to run as the second-longest running show in the theatre's history. The production and its cast received positive critical attention. The production won the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience as well as the 2010 Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite New Off-Broadway Play.
unnamed (2)Proving that a great show is always in fashion, Love, Loss and What I Wore is a play written by Nora and Delia Ephron based on the 1995 book of the same name by Ilene Beckerman. With its intimate collection of monologues, the show uses clothing and accessories and the memories they trigger to tell funny and poignant stories that all women can relate to. Directed by Karen Carpenter, the actresses sit side-by-side with script in-hand, deftly guiding the audience through an evening if humor, nostalgia and, of course, fashion.

Produced by Minneapolis based Troupe America, Inc. for a 2015 national tour, Love, Loss and What I Wore was initially presented as a part of the 2008 summer series at Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York, and then as a benefit series in the DR2 Theatre in New York in early 2009. Later the same year, the show was produced off Broadway as an ongoing commercial theatrical production at the Westside Theatre in New York, where it continued to run as the second-longest running show in the theatre’s history. The production and its cast received positive critical attention. The production won the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience as well as the 2010 Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite New Off-Broadway Play.

Nora Ephron was a writer, director and producer best known for writing the screenplays of romantic comedy films. She received three Academy Award nominations for Original Screenplay, for Silkwood (1983), When Harry Met Sally (1989) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993). She had also written five best-selling books. Ephron sometimes co-authored screenplays with her sister, writer-producer Delia Ephron, including You’ve Got Mail (1998), Hanging Up (2000), and Bewitched (2005).

Nora Ephron wrote the introduction to Beckerman’s eponymous 1995 book, which she immediately thought had dramatic possibilities. She identified with the stories in Love, Loss and What I Wore because the book “is not about fashion; it is about what clothes really are to us, those moments when we are constantly trying to find our identity through them”. Once she decided to adapt Love, Loss and What I Wore into a play, she and her sister emailed 100 women for stories.

The show’s monologues are sourced largely from Beckerman’s book. The Ephrons wove together a collection of stories adapted from the book with recollections of friends, including Rosie O’Donnell.

Performances are Friday, March 13 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, March 14 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm and Sunday, March 15 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $45 and are subject to change. Tickets are on sale now and are available at the Marcus Center Box Office at 929 North Water Street, Downtown Milwaukee, by phone at 414-273-7206, or online at MarcusCenter.org or Ticketmaster.com. Groups 10 or more SAVE! by calling 414-273-7121 ext. 210. This engagement is sponsored by the Ambassador Hotel.

The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts

The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is owned and partially funded by Milwaukee County.  The Marcus Center has been the premier entertainment destination for Milwaukee and Wisconsin since 1969.  It provides the setting for outstanding cultural experiences, where the arts come to life for current and future generations.  Located in the heart of the Downtown Theater District, the Marcus Center is a community facility that offers live performance of opera, ballet, children’s theater, symphony and first-class national touring productions.  For more information on Off Broadway at the Marcus Center Series, visit the Marcus Center website at www.MarcusCenter.org.