My Best Friend's Play Is On Broadway

Meanwhile, as Iris continued writing novels and we took our daughters to watch musicals in San Francisco, Iris never abandoned her own early dreams of the theater. About 15 years ago, she told me she was working on something new---and something old---the book and lyrics for an original Broadway musical. And she played me a tape of the first few songs. So beautiful and poignant, they made me cry. Really, though, the musical was inspired by humor----the Yiddish culture from Iris childhood roots. Though it draws on Jewish experience, the subject matter is universal to every culture and every generation. Its the story of a woman longing to pass on her heritage and her memories to her child and grandchild.The show will make you laugh, but you could cry from the back story---the challenging saga of getting a new musical to open on Broadway. As an observer for almost two decades, I can only say it takes just what the clichs say---hard work, determination, and maybe a little mazel along the way.Many people, if not most, would have given up long ago, but Iris never did.And after pursuing a project thats really a lifetime in the making, she gets to give her real-life story a far happier ending than Beaches.The People in the Picture, starring acclaimed Broadway star Donna Murphy, is now playing at the Roundabout Theater. On Broadway.After such a long odyssey, Iris could barely believe it would happen.even when the curtain goes UP. She said she wouldnt REALLY believe it until the curtain goes DOWN.I cant wait to see it for myself---- to experience the laughs, the tears and the cheers. Darryle Pollack is an artist, writer and blogger.