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Tiny Beautiful Things
Based on the best-selling book by Cheryl Strayed and adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, Tiny Beautiful Things personifies the questions and answers that “Sugar” was publishing online from 2010-2012. When the struggling writer was asked to take over the unpaid, anonymous position of advice columnist, Strayed used empathy and her personal experiences to help those seeking guidance for obstacles both large and small. Tiny Beautiful Things is a play about reaching when you’re stuck, healing when you’re broken, and finding the courage to take on the questions which have no answers.
61 pages, Theater Script
Published January 1, 2018
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About the author
Nia Vardalos
6 books41 followersAntonia Eugenia "Nia" Vardalos is a Canadian-Greek actress, screenwriter, director, singer and producer. Her most notable work is the 2002 Academy Award–nominated film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
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March 29, 2024Had to take my glasses off half way through cause I kept crying into my lenses.
February 19, 2025
Nia Vardalos’ stage adaptation of Tiny Beautiful Things beautifully transforms Cheryl Strayed’s Dear Sugar advice columns into an intimate, emotionally rich narrative. Capturing Strayed’s signature wisdom and compassion, the adaptation weaves together letters on love, loss, and resilience with raw authenticity.
Vardalos preserves the book’s profound empathy while giving it a fresh, theatrical rhythm, making each story feel deeply personal yet universally resonant. Whether you’re new to Tiny Beautiful Things or revisiting it in this new form, this adaptation is a moving testament to the power of storytelling and human connection. A must-read.
Vardalos preserves the book’s profound empathy while giving it a fresh, theatrical rhythm, making each story feel deeply personal yet universally resonant. Whether you’re new to Tiny Beautiful Things or revisiting it in this new form, this adaptation is a moving testament to the power of storytelling and human connection. A must-read.
January 15, 2020
Strayed served as the voice behind the advice column “Dear Sugar”, and was known for her unique blend of wisdom, empathy, heart, and transparency. She shared her letters and responses in a book, which Vardalos then adapted into this drama. This play is staged as Sugar at home behind a laptop, with players behind her voicing their letters aloud to Sugar. Sugar replies aloud with advice wrapped around pieces of her life story. The letters range from the light-hearted (someone’s girlfriend has a Santa Claus fetish) to the serious (ought a survivor of sexual abuse disclose her trauma to her current partner). Sugar’s responses always convey authenticity, compassion, and strength. My main criticisms of the play are (a) that the range of letters span the topics you would imagine they would cover for a dramatic play seeking to plumb the depths of human emotion (sexual abuse, broken marriages, death of a loved one, gender identity issues, et al) — a grab-bag of every emotional topic possible; and (b) that the advice is the standard advice of the culture (you’re beautiful and strong, forgive, live/laugh/love, savor every moment, etc). Using standard problems and providing standard advice could lead to a really trite, Hallmark-y play. But Vardalos gives Sugar’s voice such poetry and emotion, I found myself moved on multiple occasions. Overall, a well-constructed, and well-written play.
February 17, 2020
Stunning. Heart wrenching. Beautiful.
July 7, 2024
4.5 stars! I really enjoyed this but in many ways this feels of a very specific period of time / generation, that doesn't necessarily fully translate. Working on this show later this year.
October 18, 2018
The play premiered in 2017. It’s about an anonymous advice columnist on the website The Rumpus known only as “Dear Sugar” who doesn’t really answer people’s complicated letters with advice, but instead with stories of her own that the letter writer can interpret as advice. She contradicts herself, reveals personal secrets, and gets very real.
The show has a few positives: #1 is two powerhouse names. Strayed is famous for her memoir Wild. When the essay collection Tiny Beautiful Things was published, it was an instant bestseller. People know the “Dear Sugar” column. Nia Vardalos is also a powerhouse as the creator of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a wildly successful movie she wrote and starred in. Name appeal does sell seats in a theater.
#2 The script has excellent movement on the page, which I can visualize on a stage. There is one actor who plays “Sugar” and three actors who play letter writers 1, 2, and 3. Each writer plays several people, stepping forward or moving into the shadows to read their “letter.” Sugar begins by writing on her laptop, but then stands to address the letter writer to his/her face or the audience. There’s movement between email and real life, as if all these people seeking answers come out of her computer and into her kitchen. #3 Because there are only four parts, theaters can get really strong actors in each role.
However, one letter discusses sexual abuse, and Sugar’s response is to write about how her grandfather forced her to touch his penis when she was a little girl. Sugar uses the word “cock.” While I don’t believe in censorship, I do know that an excellent play can be ruined in the eyes of a paying audience if the word “cock” is used repeatedly. Personally, I find the word inappropriate for the context of abuse. Why not “genitals” or “privates,” especially since this is how a little girl would think of a grown man’s penis?
Overall, it’s an interesting play, short but heartfelt, and with an interesting epistolary angle that covers some of the most challenging topics a person could encounter.
This review was originally published at Grab the Lapels.
The show has a few positives: #1 is two powerhouse names. Strayed is famous for her memoir Wild. When the essay collection Tiny Beautiful Things was published, it was an instant bestseller. People know the “Dear Sugar” column. Nia Vardalos is also a powerhouse as the creator of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a wildly successful movie she wrote and starred in. Name appeal does sell seats in a theater.
#2 The script has excellent movement on the page, which I can visualize on a stage. There is one actor who plays “Sugar” and three actors who play letter writers 1, 2, and 3. Each writer plays several people, stepping forward or moving into the shadows to read their “letter.” Sugar begins by writing on her laptop, but then stands to address the letter writer to his/her face or the audience. There’s movement between email and real life, as if all these people seeking answers come out of her computer and into her kitchen. #3 Because there are only four parts, theaters can get really strong actors in each role.
However, one letter discusses sexual abuse, and Sugar’s response is to write about how her grandfather forced her to touch his penis when she was a little girl. Sugar uses the word “cock.” While I don’t believe in censorship, I do know that an excellent play can be ruined in the eyes of a paying audience if the word “cock” is used repeatedly. Personally, I find the word inappropriate for the context of abuse. Why not “genitals” or “privates,” especially since this is how a little girl would think of a grown man’s penis?
Overall, it’s an interesting play, short but heartfelt, and with an interesting epistolary angle that covers some of the most challenging topics a person could encounter.
This review was originally published at Grab the Lapels.
June 25, 2023
A reread that HITS. Definitely stand by my statement that I Love Nia Vardolos’s edits from the full book by Cheryl Strayed.
March 20, 2023
A must-read. She will pull on all of your heart strings but in a beautiful way.
January 27, 2020
Fue el que me costó un poco de más trabajo terminar a pesar de ser el más pequeño y no porque sea malo, sino porque no me atrapó por completo como los otros dos. Cuando leo, me gusta que una sola trama me lleve de principio a fin y este libro es diferente. Es una recopilación de una columna de "consejos" que se llamaba "Dear Sugar" que había dentro del Blog "The Rumpus"; así que en lugar de que el libro te cuente una sola historia, vas leyendo fragmentos de diferentes experiencias de vida. Lo que hace especial este libro es la forma en que Cheryl Strayed aconseja a la gente que le escribió estas cartas. Es muy real y honesta y la forma en que entrelaza el mensaje que quiere dar con sus vivencias personales es maravilloso. Es un libro que te va a hacer sentir bien después de leerlo y que si estás pasando por una situación difícil, indudablemente vas a entrar algo que conecte contigo y te haga sentir mejor 😉
January 10, 2023
“Love. Love, love, love, love. So much love. Your stories spilled int mine and I spilled mine back into you. Sugar is not just me. We created something together. We are all Sugar.”
A unique power of plays rests in their ability to create an unrepeatable experience between the actors and the audience that day as their lived experiences meet and interweave in the hour or two of togetherness. I applaud Vardalos and Strayed and all of the creative collaborators here in this idea. Strayed’s Sugar, so deeply empathetic and honestly articulate about her loved experiences, theatrically meets not just the letter writer’s lives but the audience’s too in my favorite kind of play. A collection of letters that makes life more conversational and, for some, less lonely and more bearable, this was a contemplative way to start 2023. Perhaps that should be my resolution for the year, to make room for more tiny, beautiful things. You can, too, with this quick yet life-filled read.
A unique power of plays rests in their ability to create an unrepeatable experience between the actors and the audience that day as their lived experiences meet and interweave in the hour or two of togetherness. I applaud Vardalos and Strayed and all of the creative collaborators here in this idea. Strayed’s Sugar, so deeply empathetic and honestly articulate about her loved experiences, theatrically meets not just the letter writer’s lives but the audience’s too in my favorite kind of play. A collection of letters that makes life more conversational and, for some, less lonely and more bearable, this was a contemplative way to start 2023. Perhaps that should be my resolution for the year, to make room for more tiny, beautiful things. You can, too, with this quick yet life-filled read.
February 7, 2024
Much needed book that reminded me that life is full of ups and downs and unpredictability and it's something that everyone is facing in their own ways. Some quotes that I liked:
"They’ve taken into their hearts the idea that there is enough for all of us, that success will manifest itself in different ways for different sorts of artists, that keeping the faith is more important than cashing the check, that being genuinely happy for someone else who got something you hope to get makes you genuinely happier too."
"You might, for example, be interested to know that the word “prestigious” is derived from the Latin praestigiae, which means “conjuror’s tricks.” Isn’t that interesting? This word that we use to mean honorable and esteemed has its beginnings in a word that has everything to do with illusion, deception, and trickery"
"They’ve taken into their hearts the idea that there is enough for all of us, that success will manifest itself in different ways for different sorts of artists, that keeping the faith is more important than cashing the check, that being genuinely happy for someone else who got something you hope to get makes you genuinely happier too."
"You might, for example, be interested to know that the word “prestigious” is derived from the Latin praestigiae, which means “conjuror’s tricks.” Isn’t that interesting? This word that we use to mean honorable and esteemed has its beginnings in a word that has everything to do with illusion, deception, and trickery"
February 13, 2022
Adapted from a book written by Cheryl Strayed, who took on a post as an anonymous advice columnist to answer readers' questions or give them advice.
"Sugar", her new pseudo name, answered the readers with personal stories. She started off by staring at her laptop, ignoring the Letter Writers on stage and answering their letters. Sugar became more connected to the job and connected to the readers, she then was more engaging and interacting with the Letter Writers.
Great advice that she gave. Very heartfelt. Tackled on some big and difficult life issues - divorce, grief, relationships, forgiveness, etc.
"Sugar", her new pseudo name, answered the readers with personal stories. She started off by staring at her laptop, ignoring the Letter Writers on stage and answering their letters. Sugar became more connected to the job and connected to the readers, she then was more engaging and interacting with the Letter Writers.
Great advice that she gave. Very heartfelt. Tackled on some big and difficult life issues - divorce, grief, relationships, forgiveness, etc.
November 19, 2021
Actually, a 4.5 rating. This is Cheryl Strayed’s book adapted for the stage by Nia Vardolos. It is a powerful and moving play that deals with some difficult and traumatic life issues. Not recommended for the faint of heart.
A local theater company is holding auditions in a couple of weeks for a February, 2022 production. I am mustering up the courage to audition even though the role of any of the letter writers may be beyond my acting abilities.
A local theater company is holding auditions in a couple of weeks for a February, 2022 production. I am mustering up the courage to audition even though the role of any of the letter writers may be beyond my acting abilities.
May 23, 2020
An unexpected quarantine gift. I watched a reader’s theater production of it online with the NYC cast on the recommendation of Uncle Richard. I loved its structure and messages, so I bought it. And I read it. And I loved it again.
January 12, 2025
I read this to prep for an upcoming audition and I didn’t expect to be so profoundly moved. I now want to read the book that inspired the play. And in true Ashley fashion, because I’m now a crazy book addict, I’m counting it as part of my reading goal for the year. We listen and we don’t judge.
September 30, 2025
Absolutely fascinating to stage because there is nearly no action - this is letters being written and read. I guess the point of this play is that this is just advice and the asking and receiving of it is what brings us together, even if the advice isn’t perfect.
January 27, 2019
Did not think an advice column could be turned into a compelling play, but I was so wrong. I would love to see this (be in this?) some day.
May 19, 2020
The letter conversation with Living Dead Dad got me. Beautiful moment.
March 8, 2021
What a terrific piece of work. Read the book - then find a production and enjoy the connections!
December 30, 2022
Have to read the book now. Hope to see the play when it's performed around here. Love the kitchen table feel of the play.
July 12, 2023
Raw, beautiful and brutally honest
July 27, 2023
Got to be too many negative stories
January 18, 2024
I have not been so moved to tears by something in quite a while. Simply beautiful.
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February 9, 2024my aunt linda would think this is so profound
August 12, 2024
Interesting compilation of advice columns from Dear Sugar.
August 26, 2024
4.5 Rounded up. A really good adaptation and can imagine so many powerful ways this could be staged
September 28, 2024
Great book!
October 25, 2025
I loved this book but I don’t love the play. I believe there are way too many F words for our theatre. I feel like many of my favorite tender parts of the book are not in the play.
January 3, 2024
Just, wow.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews