Imaginary Friends (play)

Imaginary Friends
Written by	Nora Ephron
Date premiered	September 21, 2002
Place premiered	Old Globe Theatre San Diego
Original language	English
Subject	The decades-long rivalry between Lillian Hellman and Mary McCarthy
Genre	Comedy-drama

Imaginary Friends is a play by Nora Ephron. It includes songs with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Craig Carnelia. This was Ephron's first stage play.

Writers Lillian Hellman and Mary McCarthy reunite in hell and reflect on their decades-long antagonistic relationship. Dating back to their first meeting at a conference at Sarah Lawrence College in 1948, it came to a head in 1980 when McCarthy, in a television interview with Dick Cavett, asserted, "every word she writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the'". Hellman subsequently sued McCarthy for slander. As the play progresses, the two women recall, among other things, Hellman's 1952 testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee; McCarthy's childhood abuse by an uncle; and their romantic involvements: McCarthy with Philip Rahv and Hellman with Dashiell Hammett. Throughout it all, McCarthy accuses Hellman of repeatedly presenting fiction as fact, while Hellman insists McCarthy always portrays fact as fiction.

Directed by Jack O'Brien, choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, and starring Cherry Jones as McCarthy, Swoosie Kurtz as Hellman, and Harry Groener as all the men in their lives, the play had its world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, where it ran from September 21 through November 3, 2002.

The production transferred to Broadway, opening at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 12, 2002. It closed on February 16, 2003 after 76 performances and 20 previews.

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