This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
When Keven Myhre sat down to cast the more than 80 women needed to stage "Love, Loss, and What I Wore," he initially came up with a list of 160 names.
As co-executive producer for Salt Lake Acting Company, he was certain at least half the women asked would turn down the chance to act in a staged reading of the play.
Myhre was in for a surprise. "Almost instantly, they jumped at the chance when they heard it was connected with Nora Ephron," he said. "A few said they had slightly cold feet because they'd never been on stage, but even then they said, 'What the heck, I'll give this a try."
Salt Lake Acting Company is presenting as a fundraiser staged readings of the play, written by late novelist and screenwriter and her younger sister Delia, also a best-selling author and screenwriter. The shows run from Sept. 13-30.
Each night's production will feature the story of five women, performed by professional Utah women, and with each character based on the lives of real women as documented by the Ephron sisters. While no two performances in live theater are ever exactly the same, the sequential nature of "Love, Loss, and What I Wore" guarantees that each performance will be distinct and unique.
Former U.S. Congresswoman Karen Shepherd, X96 radio host Gina Barberi, real-estate broker Babs De Lay and Utah Film Center founder Geralyn Dreyfous are a few of prominent women lending their names to the production. Utah playwrights Kathleen Cahill and Elaine Jarvik, a freelance writer for the Tribune, will also perform.
The older Ephron became a household name as the screenwriter behind the hit films "When Harry Met Sally ... " and "Sleepless in Seattle." Adapted from the Illene Beckerman memoir of the same name, "Love, Loss, and What I Wore" chronicles the experiences and life stages of women via their wardrobes.
Their stories are by turns funny, poignant or sad, but always with enough narrative pay-off to connect each woman to a pair of shoes, a skirt, blouse, shirt or pants pair that triggers an emotional journey.
"It's a touching, humorous ride through being a woman," said Colleen Baum, who directs the production and also plays one character in the closing-night show. "Men will learn a lot about women, and it's certainly something they can also get nostalgic about."
Myhre said the idea to stage the play as a reading came when he and Cynthia Fleming, Salt Lake Acting Company's executive producer, attended a local event bringing artists and scientists together under one roof.
"How many times does anyone have the opportunity to get in the pathway of people we wish we knew?" Myhre said. "It seemed like a wonderful idea to cast a whole bunch of people I wouldn't otherwise meet, and to have them get to know each other as well."
Twitter:@Artsalt
Facebook.com/fulton.ben —
'Love, Loss, and What I Wore'
As a fundraiser, the Salt Lake Acting Company presents staged readings of Nora and Delia Ephron's stage adaptation, featuring some 80 local women.
When • Sept. 13-Sept. 30; Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Where • Salt Lake Acting Company, 168 W. 500 North, Salt Lake City
Info • $25. Call 801-363-SLAC or visit http://www.saltlakeactingcompany.org for more information.