Nia Vardalos on Tiny Beautiful Things, adapting an advice column for the stage and the advice she took away

Originally published on April 25, 2019. 

Nia Vardalos is best known for My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but her latest project is unlike anything she's done before. She wrote and stars in the stage adaptation of Tiny Beautiful Things, based on Cheryl Strayed's New York Times bestseller of the same name.

For years, Strayed had one of the most thoughtful and unique advice columns around, called Dear Sugar. She'd use heartbreaks, ephiphanies and anecdotes from her own life to help answer people's questions. Each response was a tiny work of art.

In the stage adaptation, Vardalos stars as Sugar, an anonymous online advice columnist who's lived a life that's far from average. She joined q guest host Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe to talk about how she got involved in the project and what she's learned about herself while playing this role.

Tiny Beautiful Things is on now at the Pasadena Playhouse in California.

Click 'listen' near the top of this page to hear the full conversation.

— Produced by Vanessa Nigro