By Kathryn Neves
Utah Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director John DiAntonio calls The Book Club Play “clever, relatable, and full of heart” and noted that “this modern day comedy proves that real life can be the most unpredictable and funniest of all.”
Less about contemplative discussions of books themselves and more about what these characters learn concerning each other through the discussions of the books, the play is a story of community and “epiphanies.”
“Book Club is a safe haven. . . a place to read, talk and be our authentic selves,” Ana said at the very beginning of the play.
Ultimately, The Book Club Play reveals to us what we all hope for when we crack open the spine of a book— that books offer a space for us to better understand ourselves and others, and that discussing books together, in a group dynamic, can be revelatory.
Intertextuality in the Play
It’s clear that the playwright, Karen Zacarías has a passion for literature by looking at the classics she’s brought into the theatre world. Here in 2026, she is currently working on an adaptation of Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence (which Jen mentions at book club in the play) and a Brazilian themed Oliver Twist musical. The New York Times praised her libretto of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and she is working on a libretto of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
The play itself seems to be a reflection of Zacarías’ passion for literature. The references to literature also offer layers to the characters themselves by mirroring their personal lives. Let’s discuss some of the works that are mentioned in the play.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
One of the themes focused on in Moby Dick is the “multicultural microcosm” of the crew. Much as the crew in the book represents “a small, contained community, place, or situation that encapsulates the diverse cultures, beliefs, and characteristics of a much larger society” the members of the book club represent the same in The Book Club Play.
Lisa Adler, Co-Artistic/Producing Director at Horizon Theatre Company, said “The comedy is grounded by the real dilemmas of these very human characters. Audiences of different ages, interests and backgrounds, linked by their love of books, found windows into the play through the diversity of characters represented onstage.”
Much like patrons will find themselves in the characters of The Book Club Play, the characters found themselves within books, like we all hope to.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights is referenced by the women in the group toward the beginning of the play. In the novel, Catherine marries another while her true and passionate love is Heathcliff. Is it happenstance that several lines later, (spoiler alert!) Rob and Jen kiss? Although not nearly as intense as the affair between Heathcliff and Catherine, Rob and Jen share a small, romantic moment together, perhaps mirroring the characters in the novel.
Paradise Lost by John Milton
One of the prominent themes in Paradise Lost is the loss of innocence. In the play, Will throws the book at Ana and Rob when he walks in on them at the beginning of their passionate romance. Ana notes that Will was her first kiss, so the reference to the classic could be a nod to Ana’s own “loss of innocence.”
Twilight by Stephanie Meyers
Although most of this scene is of the character’s complaining about Twilight and debating whether it is literature, it does offer an interesting layer to Alex’s character (although he hasn’t read the book, either). Alex, Jen’s “laundrymate” was invited to book club, much to the group’s dismay, and immediately asks a question Will isn’t sure is “appropriate.” Later, they find out that Alex is a professor of comparative literature. When Alex enters the room for the first time, he asks “So this is book club? This isn’t what I expected. At all.” Just as book club wasn’t what Alex expected it to be, he wasn’t what the group expected, either. Although the group doesn’t consider the book “real literature,” for Alex, “Twilight feels like destiny.”
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
The Da Vinci Code brings up an enormous “plot twist” in the play. Ana’s argument of the book is that it is too “plot driven,” but it seems to spark up intense character development in the play, revealing Will’s true feelings. Much as the theme of feminine suppression is explored in the novel, it may parallel (another spoiler alert!) Will’s suppressed sexuality. Later, Will confesses he didn’t like Brown’s other novels, but The Da Vinci Code was just “the right book at the right time. Some books just turn you upside down. . . and suddenly you can see the world right side up.”
Return of Tarzan by Rice Burroughs
Some of the prominent themes in The Return of Tarzan are civilization versus savagery and loyalty. Before they even begin discussing the book, Ana apologizes to Alex for being “territorial” regarding her friends, mirroring one of the major themes of the book. She even says to Rob, “You are my Tarzan, always.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, Zacarías’ inspiration for the play came from her own experiences in a book club for over 14 years.
“When you talk to other people at book clubs, they share these amazing stories. It’s about people getting together to talk about how literature affects them,” Zacarías said. “But really, it’s an excuse to share your life and connect with other people. So book clubs can become a really wonderful social gathering place, but also can become a petri dish for feelings and things going wrong as well.”
Throughout the play, we certainly see this, as characters express their emotions and reveal secrets to one another. Through the characters and their revelations, the audience is also invited to contemplate how literature shapes our own identity, status, and belonging.
