Playwright Leila Hernandez shows off her true colors during a 2018 trip to the United Kingdom to celebrate the nuptials of Prince Harry of England and Meghan Markle of America.
LOGAN – The line-up of productions during the upcoming 2023 season of the Lyric Repertory Company will include the satiric I Was Supposed to Be Meghan Markle … But My Anxiety Disorder Got in the Way.
Penned by comedian Leila Hernandez, the one-woman comedy show will be presented as part of the Lyric’s “InterACT” series of new and different plays on three separate evenings.
The playwright admits to both loving and hating the former television actress who became the Duchess of Sussex after marrying Prince Harry of England.
“I wanted to marry one of Princess Diana’s sons,” she explains, with tongue firmly in cheek. “These were my plans. These were my dreams.
“I was supposed to shake-up and modernize the British royal establishment. I was going to be the first chubby, hairy, Hispanic, North American to marry a British prince.”
Hernandez’ humorous tale of woe about how Meghan Markle swooped in and snatched her dream life away will debut for one night only at 7:30 p.m. on July 3 in the intimate Black Box Theatre on the Utah State University campus.
Although her day job is customer service for the American University in Washington, D.C., Hernandez describes herself as a podcaster, playwright, a pop-culture analyst and enthusiast.
She holds a bachelor of arts degree in History/Anthropology from DePauw University in Indiana and a masters in International Media from the American University.
Artistic director Richie Call said that the “InterACT” shows give the Lyric company an opportunity to showcase new works by up-and-coming playwrights.
Call suggests that interested audience members stick around after each show to share their thoughts, feedback and “interact” with the director and actors.
“It will be a unique opportunity to be involved with a play in its early stages of evolution,” he adds.
Additional “InterACT” performances are slated for July 12 and 18.
The Lyric’s second “InterACT” show on at 7:30 p.m. on July 12 will feature two one-act plays by English playwright M.K. Wessel. Those abbreviated plays are entitled Thank You for Knowing Me and The Red Claw.
The subject matter of the third “InterACT” show on July 18 is still under wraps, according to Call.
All of the upcoming “InterACT” shows will be directed by Yesenia Garcia Herrington.
The Black Box Theatre is located in the Chase Fine Arts Center on the USU campus.