‘Love, Loss, & What I Wore’ opens in Parsippany

According to the adage, clothes make the man. But do clothes make the woman?

Meridith Johnson thinks so. “A lot of our lives is reflected in our clothing,” she says.

Bridget Burke Weiss agrees. “Our clothing says a lot about us and about the changes in our lives” she says.

Weiss and Johnson are in a position to reflect on wardrobe. They are two of the six actresses who will perform in “Love, Loss, and What I Wore,” the play that runs today through Nov. 15 at the Women’s Theater Co. in Parsippany.

The script by the late Nora Ephron (screenwriter of such movies as “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sleepless in Seattle”) and her sister Delia Ephron is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Elene Beckerman.

The play is structured as a series of monologues (interspersed with short ensemble pieces) in which each actress portrays several different women reflecting on different phases of their lives. The touchstone for each story is an outfit or an article of clothing.

For example, Johnson delivers one monologue as a woman obsessed with Madonna and her flamboyant outfits. She has another in which she plays a woman picking out the right dress to wear when she visits her husband in prison.

Johnson says the stories will touch anyone – even the most fashion-challenged male members of the audience. “These stories are funny, and they’re real.”

Weiss concurs. “This is a play about the changes in women’s lives. It’s very well-written and very true to life.”

“I think people will see themselves in all these stories,” adds Weiss, who portrays an 11-year-old girl who loses her mother, as well as a breast cancer survivor. “Women obviously will recognize themselves, but I think men will see their wives and sisters.”

A play that spotlights women but that also reaches an audience regardless of gender exemplifies the goal of the Women’s Theater Co., according to founder Barbara Krajkowski, who is directing “Love, Loss, and What I Wore.”

“My mission statement was to give women a wife place to practice their craft,” says Krajkowski. “I wanted to find a way to bring more women into the theater.”

But like Johnson and Weiss, Krajkowski that the script does not bash men. “This play won’t alienate the men in the audience,” she says. “I think they’ll hear stories that will make them think, ‘Oh my…’ But it’s not anti-male.”

Krajkowski is a fan of both the book and play. She is particularly grateful to have had the opportunity to see Ilene Beckerman herself in a production of “Love, Loss, and What I Wore” in Chester two years ago.

“She made a tremendous impression on me,” Krajkowski says. “She was honest and real, and she was herself.”

“That’s what I’m trying to here,” she says. “I want to avoid an actress-y thing. I want the performers to be who they are.”

Those efforts are appreciated by the cast members. “Barbara is an amazing director,” says Weiss. “She’s going for something special here.”

Krajkowski feels that the play is likely to prompt an enthusiastic response from the audience. “I expected people are going to call out and make comments out loud. It’s that kind of play,” she says.

It also serves as a slice of Americana. Some of the stories touch on such 1950s fashions as poodle skirts.

“The interesting thing is that there’s not too much in the play about children,” Krajkowski says. “There’s a lot about relationships with mothers and grandmothers, and then with fathers and husbands.”

Above all, “Love, Loss, and What I Wore” should leave audiences laughing, even amid a few teary situations. “Even the cancer story is about a survivor, and it’s optimistic and upbeat,” Krajkowski says. “I think people will love this play.”

LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE

WHEN: Through Nov. 15. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays;

3 p.m. Sundays.

WHERE: Women’s Theater Co., Parsippany Playhouse at

Parsippany Community Center, 1130 Knoll Rd., Lake Hiawatha. (On a GPS system, use “Boonton, NJ 07005.”)

TICKETS: $25, $20 for seniors.

INFORMATION: 973-316-3033 or www.womenstheater.org