Why update a Greek tragedy with bourgie California lesbians?
Don’t we already have The L Word? Healey: No, we don’t have The L Word, so shut up! Originally the play was called Oedipussy and set in a Greek diner. But things took a big turn when we went to Palm Springs [to write the play]; we just soaked up that culture, which is deeply hedonistic. Cocktail hour runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You’re always naked because it’s sunny and you have privacy. We were pretty much naked the whole time we were writing. Dibbell: The Secretaries went to the furthest extremes of femininity, which was almost like a foreign species to us. I feel that way about bourgeois lesbians: “I don’t understand you, and I want to. You’re in my tribe but you’re so different from me.” Healey: Oedipus deals with royalty, so we chose lesbians who make money, can move in the mainstream. We also made Jocasta the central character instead of Oedipus she’s the one who makes the central choice. The play is so much about female identity: Who are you as a sexual person, as a mother? How d
