Every once in awhile, a performance piece, story or poem hits home so directly that you feel as if you’ve written it yourself — or at least you wish you had. Love, Loss and What I Wore is that piece for dozens of cast members and thousands of women who have seen the show.

When producer/actress Lara Halloway and I saw it performed off Broadway a few years ago, we couldn’t stop talking about what we’d heard. The hilarious truths and tenderness that the script captures offer a buffet of memories up to the audience who feasts on every word as if flipping through a veritable photo album of life.

There are some things about being human, and female in particular, that resonate no matter your background or age. Nora and Delia Ephron have found those in this show.

Clothing is the hook on which the lives of the women characters hang their stories. The play is based on the book Love, Loss and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman and features monologues, stories and clothesline readings about the memories, triumphs and tragedies that punctuate life. Each scene unfolds as the clothing or shoes that are inexorably tied to the event lead the audience into the lives of the characters. The play takes its listeners from laughter to tears to poignant connection — sometimes all within one scene.

You don’t have to be a female to enjoy this show either: Anyone who’s had to live with one of us will laugh out loud at the scenarios Ephron unfolds. In fact, when we saw the show, at least a third of the audience were husband-types who were relishing in the unfortunate truths about the females with whom they live! There are mature themes as the women speaking range in the script from ages 20 to 60, so the show is recommended from age 14 or older.

Lara and I tried twice to get rights to this show before we were granted them — that’s how popular the script rental is in the Los Angeles area. We are delighted to be able to present this show, especially because the actresses have chosen to preclude a door charge and offer it free to the public. We get to support local businesses who have generously offered their spaces for performance and bless local women who have struggled or will struggle through breast cancer in the process. It’s the best of Santa Barbara when the community can be celebrated in the arts and through the arts.

Ephron’s brilliant writing is brought to life by PlayRight Theater Co.‘s Meredith McMinn, Katie Thatcher, Aden Hailu, Lara Hollaway, Allison Threadgold and Shannon Saleh under the exceptional direction of Asa Olssoni.

The show is free to the public, with all donations benefiting the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Santa Barbara.

Performances

» Friday, June 14 at 7 p.m., Java Station, 4447 Hollister Ave. in Santa Barbara

» Saturday, June 15 at 2 p.m., The Porch, 3823 Santa Claus Lane in Carpinteria

» Saturday, June 15 at 7 p.m., Taffy’s Pizza, 2026 De la Vina St. in Santa Barbara

» Sunday, June 16 at 7 p.m., Carpinteria Womans Club, 1059 Vallecito Road in Carpinteria

» Monday, June 17 at 6 p.m., Municipal Winery, 22 Anacapa St. in Santa Barbara

All performances are free, and we are providing an opportunity to donate to the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Santa Barbara at each performance.

To reserve tickets, RSVP to lauralew@gte.net. Some of the performances already have wait lists, so be sure to reserve your seat today!

— Shannon Saleh represents PlayRight Theater Co.