Review: It's Time to Open Up Your Closet

Love, Loss and What I Wore

Written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, Based on the book by Ilene Beckerman, Directed by Paula Plum; Robert Benton Orzalli, Stage Manager; Lurie Armandt, Assistant Director; Michael Clark Wonson, Lighting Design; David Wilson, Sound Design; Natalia Boltukhova, Poster Design; Cristhian Mancinas-Garcia, Postcard Design

CAST: Theresa Chiasson, Adobuere Ebiama, Lauren Elias, Linda Goetz, June Kfoury

Performances through August 3 by Hub Theatre Company of Boston at First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough Street, Boston, MA; Tickets for all shows are PAY WHAT YOU CAN www.hubtheatreboston.org

Music is recognized as evocative and we all have songs that trigger memories of our past, but it turns out that clothing serves the same function for many women. Over the course of twenty-eight scenes enacted by five actresses playing more than two dozen characters, writers and sisters Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron convey the important connection between what we wear and who we are. Based on the 1995 book by Ilene Beckerman, Love, Loss and What I Wore shares the personal accounts of actual women musing about mothers, bras, cowboy boots, high heels, and all manner of relationships that resonate on so many levels.

The Boston premiere of the Off-Broadway hit (it ran from October, 2009 through March, 2012 at The Westside Theatre) is the second production of Hub Theatre Company of Boston and is playing in an intimate space at the First Church in Boston, located at the corner of Berkeley and Marlborough Streets. A series of monologues and ensemble pieces, Love, Loss is performed in a tight ninety minutes without intermission under the direction of Paula Plum. The overall impression is that these five women are having fun and enjoy watching each other deliver their lines. Plum has created a relaxed atmosphere where it feels like everyone is involved in the conversation together.

There's no shortage of laughs in the stories and Plum's cast of Theresa Chiasson, Adobuere Ebiama, Lauren Elias, Linda Goetz, and June Kfoury have comedic skills aplenty. However, some of the tales are poignant, offering details about body image issues, breast cancer, and parental loss. Chiasson inhabits the memory of a young girl whose new stepmother appears at the breakfast table in a bathrobe all but identical to the one worn by her late mother, and is near tears when lamenting the disappearance of her favorite shirt even as her relationship with her boyfriend is ending. In what is arguably the most heartfelt scene in the play, Goetz digs deep in her portrayal of a young breast cancer survivor undergoing reconstructive surgery, and is equally authentic as the unhappy thin woman in the "Fat/Thin" sketch.

Kfoury is the author's alter ego Gingy with a five-part story that pops up throughout the play. She gets to use the one visual aid, a large notebook on an easel with costume drawings on the pages that she flips to coincide with her personal narrative. Managing Director and co-founder of Hub, Elias delivers "I Hate My Purse" with brio and knowing facial expressions which lead you to believe that this particular quandary hits home for her. Ungrateful daughter, cool gang girl, and the woman who must choose between painful high heels or comfortable Birkenstocks are some of the roles portrayed by versatile Ebiama.

The Combined talents of the writers, Plum, and the five actresses add up to an engaging evening of theater with a plethora of quirky characters. This is a minimalist production with only the aforementioned easel and five high-backed stools, a smattering of recorded music (Sound Design by David Wilson), and Michael Clark Wonson's Lighting Design that features long, low spots and cool, blue effusion. (Considering the ambient temperature in the room on opening night, the latter was a welcome effect.) Love, Loss and What I Wore doesn't break a lot of new ground, but it suggests another metaphor for analyzing our experiences in life and it just might motivate you to clean out your closet.

Artwork: Hub Theatre Company of Boston