TUCSON, AZ – Like Heaven is a new comedy by award-winning playwright and University of Arizona Professor Elaine Romero.  The play is filled with heart and humor and centers around four women struggling to discover who they truly are as individuals.  Director Brent Gibbs explains it best, “Everyone in this play is struggling to find their authentic voice rather than the ones they grew up being told they should use.”

“Like Heaven represents an important project for the Arizona Repertory Theatre.  It is the first time since we opened the Tornabene Theatre almost two decades ago, with two original scripts, that we will have the opportunity to produce a new work in conjunction with the playwright,” notes Gibbs.  He goes on to say, “The process of working with a writer of Elaine Romero’s status has been an incredible opportunity for our students.”  During the rehearsal process, students have had the unique opportunity to work through the script with both the director and the playwright.  This type of artistic collaboration generates an exciting learning environment for students that results in fully developed characters and a beautiful piece of theatre.

Romero says of her play, “If you know my body of work, you might see Like Heaven as my anomaly play.”  But the play is close to her heart and she is proud to say that, “I fell in love.  I fell in love with each of these women and their plights.”  It is the plight of these wonderful women from Independence, Kansas that draws the audience into the play and leads them through an emotional and amusing journey to self-acceptance proving, once and for all, that there is no place like home.