Tiny Beautiful Things - July 15 - July 25, 2021
Rogue Theater Company
Who's Who
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Cheryl Strayed (Author of book)
Cheryl Strayed is the author of the #1 NY Times bestselling memoir Wild, the NY Times bestsellers Tiny Beautiful Things and Brave Enough, and Torch. Wild was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as her first selection for Oprah's Book Club. Strayed's books have been translated into nearly forty languages around the world and have been adapted for both the screen and the stage. The Oscar-nominated movie adaptation of Wild stars Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl and Laura Dern as Cheryl's mother, Bobbi. Tiny Beautiful Things was adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, who also starred in the role of Sugar/Cheryl. The play was directed by Thomas Kail and debuted at The Public Theater in New York City. Strayed is the host of the NY Times hit podcast, Sugar Calling and also Dear Sugars, which she co-hosted with Steve Almond. Strayed holds an MFA in fiction writing from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
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Nia Vardalos (Playwright)
Nia Vardalos wrote and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and an Independent Spirit Award and People’s Choice Award. Stage credits include originating the role of Sugar in The Public Theater’s Tiny Beautiful Things, directed by Thomas Kail, Jennie in Theatre20’s Company, directed by Gary Griffin, and writer and actor of twelve The Second City’s revues (Chicago’s Jeff Award winner, Best Actress). Writing and acting film and television credits include: Helicopter Mom; My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2; Larry Crowne; Connie and Carla; I Hate Valentine’s Day; My Life in Ruins; Jane the Virgin; Law and Order: SVU; and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Vardalos is the New York Times-bestselling author of Instant Mom, the story of adopting her daughter via foster care, and all proceeds are donated to adoption groups.
Playwright’s Note:
“The letters are real’, I thought as I read Cheryl Strayed’s incredibly moving book, “Tiny Beautiful Things”. People wrote those letters.
A few years ago, author Cheryl Strayed gave advice as Sugar for the literary website, The Rumpus, and later collected letters into a book. Journalist Marshall Heyman gave his friend, Thomas Kail, the book Tommy gave it to me suggesting it could become a play. As I read the letters exchanged, I wept, smiled, and was astonished by the raw and extraordinary candor.
Sugar and the writers of the letters reveal themselves and we find ourselves in their conundrums and sorrows, in their lives lived and road traveled. I yearned to be as bold, audacious and willful. As I adapted the book into a play, I found the words so illuminating that I grieved and moved on from certain events of my own.
Still, if I had one letter to write, it would be:
Dear Sugar, I hope to be as brave as the writers of the letters and as open as Cheryl Strayed. — Nia Vardalos
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