Joan Rivers was nothing sort of a trailblazer in comedy. If there was someone who broke down the barriers for all of the comedians that followed, Rivers would be that person. Her career was full of ups and downs - with professional and personal struggles along the way. But through it all, there was always one thing that was at the forefront: Humor.
To Rivers, it didn’t matter what the joke was. If it was funny, that’s all that mattered. She found every which way she could to push buttons, and comment on things that others just weren’t. She managed to do all of this while being her most truthful and authentic self. This is a trait that has cemented her legacy a decade after she passed away back in 2014.
It’s all of these things that are on display in a brand-new play, titled Joan, which recently had its world premiere at the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California. The play was written by Daniel Goldstein and directed by David Ivers, in association with Rivers’ daughter, Melissa.
The show isn’t a tribute act, or focused on her career. It’s an inside look on who Joan Rivers was - from her New York upbringing to her big break in entertainment to her relationship with Johnny Carson to its downfall and how she dealt with the suicide of her husband, Edgar, in the midst of her tumultuous Fox talk show opposite Carson. All of there ingredients make up a show that has you on the edge of your seat from the time the curtain goes up to when the curtain goes down.
Rivers is expertly played here by Tessa Auberjonois, who manages to encompass not only all of Rivers signature wit, but also her sheer tenacity and determination. She finds a way to own the stage as Rivers, which cannot be an easy task. What’s interesting is the play manages to utilize an interesting technique where she plays older Rivers and younger Rivers is played by Elinor Gunn, who plays Joan’s daughter Melissa in scenes from when Rivers was in her younger days. In those scenes, Tessa plays Joan’s mother. It’s a lot of explanation on paper, but when you see the play, it all makes sense.
The show does shift between narratives and where certain things on the timeline are placed. When there’s a career as illustrious as Rivers’ was, there’s a lot of ground to cover. We are watching someone go from youth to their twilight all within the span of 100 minutes. When you’ve done as much as Rivers had done, that can be all the more daunting.
The play is more than just someone’s show business life, however. There’s seemingly endless layers underneath that. At the core of the play are the relationships. It’s a play about mothers and daughters, husband and wives, and in the case of Carson, mentor and mentee.
The story of the latter has lots of layers that are all unpacked onstage. Rivers was a favorite of Carson’s, and their chemistry was always gold on the show. So much so that she became the permanent guest host for Carson when he was out. But at a certain point, it was discovered that Rivers wasn’t on the network’s shortlist to be given the show when Carson left. So when the opportunity to go to Fox came up opposite Carson and have her own show, Rivers did so. Word got to Carson before she could call him and tell him, and he hung up on her. They never talked again. That show on Fox wound up being a tragic part of her story, as after her husband Edgar was banned from the set, he wound up killing himself.
The show doesn’t shy away from these points, instead embracing them head on. And when tragedy strikes, Rivers opens up, before she gets back to the microphone and finds a way to make a joke. Because again, with her, everything was poised to be material. And as a result, the show Joan is filled to the brim with nothing but material, with solid execution.
When & where to watch the new play about Joan Rivers: "Joan."
The show runs from now until November 24th at the South Coast Repertory in Irvine, California. Tickets can be found here.
