Sisters Liz and Bernie couldn’t be more different: Liz is a polite, southern stay-at-home mom; Bernie is a flailing actress smoking and swearing her way through New York City. But when Liz is suddenly widowed, she and her young daughter move in with Bernie to start again. While Bernie challenges all of Liz’s assumptions about life, love, and raising a child, Liz goes out on a series of internet dates which eclipse the grief, fear, and gentility she’s known for so long. Can Liz compel her own story to end like a romance novel? This new comedy asks us to imagine how we might handle the curveballs – big and small – that life throws us.
Romance Novels for Dummies premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamston, MA in July 2016 under the direction of Moritz von Stuelpnagel.