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Wine Country Theatre | Love, Loss and What I Wore
WINE COUNTRY THEATRE
BY CHRISTIANNA MARKS
Wine Country Theatre was back with their production of “Love, Loss, and What I Wore.” The show, which was staged at the Plymouth Congregational Church Fellowship Hall in Paso Robles, had an almost completely sold-out run from June 10 thru June 19.
“When we realized that we had no venue any longer at the Park Ballroom, I go to this church; it’s like my second home. I was literally in here [the Plymouth Congregational Church Fellowship Hall] having coffee one Sunday. The church service people gather in here and have cookies and coffee,” said Director and Wine Country Theatre Creator Cynthia Anthony. “I was just staring at that stage, and I thought, I wonder if we could do “Love, Loss, and What I Wore” in here? This is an example of a venue calling out for the play because the play’s very simply staged, and it worked. I just had a vision about it.”
“Love, Loss, and What I Wore” is written by esteemed sister duo and screenwriters in their own right, Norah and Delia Effron. Norah is known for penning the rom-coms like “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” while Delia and Norah tag-teamed the likes of “You’ve Got Mail” and “Hanging Up,” which is based on a book also written by Delia.
“[I] absolutely loved it,” said actress Christine Miller of the script. “[It’s] well written, it’s fun to play, and when you start getting the feedback from the audience, it just creates this back and forth that is why you’re on stage.”
The show expands on what it’s like to be a woman by examining the clothes worn during life-changing moments, from getting your first bra to going to prom, getting married, and everything in between.
Paso Robles Magazine was invited to the almost sold-out show on Saturday, June 11, and was left in stitches by the comedy witnessed on the stage, performed by six of the Central Coasts’ extraordinarily talented and comedic actresses. Dori Duke, Christine Miller, Mary-Ann Maloof, Lindsey Lee Taylor, Allison Bradshaw, and Kristen Saunders brought over 28 characters to life on stage. Each character with their own memories concerning the clothes they wore while surrounded by drawings of outfits and clothes hanging throughout the venue and behind them on stage, telling their own stories.
“These women are amazing women, personally, but then also as performers and actors. Our director is awesome, and the theater company, in general, is incredibly active and supportive of getting different material that’s not really been done a whole lot [out there],” shared actress Lindsey Taylor of the company and Wine Country Theatre.
The play, while written by Norah and Delia Effron, is actually based on the book of the same name by Ilene Beckerman and was one of the longest-running Off-Broadway shows to date.
“It’s really fun. I feel like this show is just so relatable. The script has really got something for everybody, and so much of it really hits home with so many people,” said actress Dori Duke. “A friend of mine saw it and said that it made her realize how much women go through and the judgment, and just how hard we are on ourselves, and all the things that happen. You kind of forget that there’s all of those things that happen. The good and the bad.”
While the play’s subject matter was geared toward females, the humor and heart of the script connected with anyone with a ticket to the show.
“We actually had one gentleman who told our actors afterwards that watching the show gave him more insight into the female mystique than him hwaving a wife and three sisters,” actress Kristin Saunders stated.
“I did have this 80-year-old man last night tell me, ‘In all of my 80 years, I have never learned anything as much about women as I did tonight.’ So, he just made my night,” added Taylor.
The play is a total blast and full of laughs, it also examines what it’s like to be human, and that’s something we all can relate to.
“Hopefully, people went home, and they were full of their own memories of clothes through the years, of things about clothes and sisters and friends and marriages and wedding dresses and prom dresses,” concluded Anthony.
