FringeNYC Previews

Be Brave, Anna!

Produced by M34 Productions

Author: Tara Schuster

Be Brave, Anna! is a loose adaptation of the life and times of Anna Nicole Smith told through the form of French Melodrama. Audiences can expect to see lots of glitter, lots of trash, and most importantly — an inside look into the creation of an American icon.

Be Brave, Anna! questions the significance of reality television and celebrity worship in contemporary America. The play investigates what happens when a life becomes entertainment in a playful and sometimes haunting style. If you watch reality television, hate reality television, or question the importance of fame in America, this show is for you. Plus — lots of laughs — guaranteed.

I wrote Be Brave, Anna! while living in self-imposed exile in Paris, France. While abroad I learned of the death of Anna Nicole Smith and was oddly saddened. I didn't know anything about her before her death — just that she was another blonde bomb-shell. But there was something about her story, the heightened drama, the excess, and the ultimate tragedy that captured my imagination. Anna Nicole Smith, to me, fulfilled the American dream and redefined virtue. It is my hope that in presenting this show, we can laugh at the pit-falls of popular culture while also asking how responsible we are for the celebrities we create.

Tara Schuster, playwright