Joy Behar’s new play, “My First Ex-Husband,” may have premiered Off-Broadway earlier this year, but the content of the show has been in the works since the 1980s.
“My girlfriend Jane and I – we were getting divorced around the same time. I remember sitting down with her and saying, ‘Why don’t we just talk about what happened to us?’” Behar said. “So we talked about how our marriages fell apart. And I thought it was interesting to hear her story, so I put her on tape. And when I saw that I had material that was interesting about what had happened to her, I decided to talk to somebody else, another friend that I have. And then it sort of mushroomed from there.”
And after 40 years of collecting, reshaping, adapting and anonymizing the real stories into a series of monologues, Behar’s play was ready for the stage.
Behar, who’s an actress, comedian, playwright and award-winning long-time co-host of the ABC talk show “The View,” stars in the play alongside a rotating ensemble cast of iconic funny ladies, including the prolific film, television and streaming actress, comedian and singer, Jackie Hoffman.
Hoffman said she was drawn to the project because of the humor and authenticity of the vignettes featured in the play.
“I’m attracted to anything funny,” Hoffman said. “I was really thrilled to find out that it was based on the monologues of real people, because I suspected it when I read them. They were very varied; they were all different types of women. It’s very poignant, but doesn’t take itself seriously.”
And although the humor is a major factor in the play, Behar said that sense of poignancy was essential to the development of the show. She said theater-goers are looking for depth, not just laughs, especially with the subject matter addressed in “My First Ex-Husband.”
“No breakup is fun,” Behar said. “You can’t really avoid the pathos in a divorce, because they’re all pretty ugly. Even when you want to get divorced, which is what I did, it still feels horrible.”
Both Behar and Hoffman said by creating a space for audiences to relate to the stories, regardless of their experience with divorce, each performance can vary significantly in terms of audience response.
“You always get the sense in the room that they care about what’s happening,” Hoffman said. “Sometimes there’ll be laughs where they didn’t expect there to be laughs, and you sense lots of identification. And Joy has a little pre-show mini monologue where she asks, ‘How many of you are divorced? How many of you would like to get divorced?’ And it gets people involved in a personal way. So they feel like they’re having a conversation.”
Behar and Hoffman both say they hope audiences enjoy their time in the theater but also come away with the opportunity to think about their own lives and relationships.
“Divorce wakes you up a little and informs you about yourself, if you do it right,” Behar said. “I always say you’ll never get over a divorce unless you take the blame for your part. This is not a one-man show here. So the women who are speaking have a perspective which is born of their experience and self-reflection.”
“My First Ex-Husband” is onstage at the Huntington from Sept. 12-28. Click here for more information.
Guests
- Joy Behar, actress, comedian, award-winning television host and playwright
- Jackie Hoffman, award-winning stage and screen actress, comedian and singer
