309:", Colbert said that when he joined the project, "All they had was the name of this town, Wigfield, a certain amount of shaping was required, you could say." Jefferson was incorporated so its business owners could avoid paying county taxes. "There was this mayor who was running on the platform that, 'If you elect me, I'll dissolve the town.' So this candidate wins the election, and then all these people living there contest it and organize this fight to save the town." Colbert recalled. They did most of the writing in Colbert's
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342:. Two guys pressed in on my ribs and then a third one put duct tape across my chest to give me a waist. Then they said, 'Stick your ass out as far as you can toward the camera. Let's get a booty.' When I was finally made up with the outfit and the high heels, I was disturbingly attracted to myself". The rabbits featured in some of the book pictures, came from a
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through. Hyperion was not convinced, and asked for something else. On that same meeting
Sedaris and Dinello improvised the pitch of what would become Wigfield, inspired on a fake town full of weird characters, created by Sedaris in her youth. "I used to change my wig for all these different characters, so I called it Wigfield," she recalled.
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worm, which they named
Montgomery. They would make up stories about the worm, although it eventually broke, Sedaris kept the idea in her mind, and thought it would make "a great character for a kids’ book." She and Dinello didn't have a plot, but would often think of the adventures the worm would go
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home. The idea of making the lead character a reporter, came from them trying to reach the word count more easily. Dinello said: "We created the Hokes character out of necessity, it gave us the freedom to write anything. If someone says, 'That's barely a sentence,' we could say, 'Well, clearly that
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The story concerns journalist Russel Hokes, who is trying to complete his assignment, write 50,000 words about a dying small town in
America. In his desperate search he stumbles upon Wigfield, a quarter-mile stretch of concrete and gravel, dotted with strip clubs and used auto parts shops. In there
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cat doesn't know how to write.'" The character of Donny Larson, Wigfield's local strip club manager, was also inspired by people
Colbert met while growing up in the South, "Every choice in life they make usually hurts them and others, but they have no sense of personal responsibility whatsoever."
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of the book. The show consisting mainly of staged readings, featuring large photos of each character projected on a screen set up behind the trio, was produced by WestBeth
Entertainment, and launched at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts on May 2, 2003. The show ran
441:, said: "This is less a play than an elaborate book reading. The comics don't change costumes, and they hold copies of their book throughout the evening. But these are talented performers, and they inject their kooky characters with a weird charm."
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Although it was rather vague, Hyperion thought it sounded promising, and picked it up. After reading the contract, and realising they had to write 50,000 words, they contacted collaborator
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he finds a number of colorful characters, and a town in crisis, as mayor Bill Farber wants to tear down the
Bulkwaller Dam, thereby flooding the town.
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It has sold over 29,000,000 copies in paperback and hardcover combined and has also been published by
Highbridge Audio as an unabridged
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Due to budget restraints, Hyperion could not send the authors on a book tour. Instead, Sedaris, Colbert and
Dinello organized a
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said "Wigfield's virtuoso improvisations make it the print equivalent of
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in July 2003. On their show at the Jane, Russell Scott Smith of the
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searching for his identity. The idea came after she and her brother
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with voice performances by
Sedaris, Dinello, and Colbert.
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995:. Further suggestions might be found on the article's
641:"Sedaris and pals bring 'Wigfield' from page to stage"
498:"'Daily Show' meets Second City in 'Wigfield' tour"
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588:"'Candy' was dandy but 'Wigfield' is weirder"
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218:. It was first published on May 7, 2003, by
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197:Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not
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556:"On Stage: reporting live, from Wigfield"
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42:Cover of 2004 paperback reprint edition
814:"7 Ways to Be Entertained in . . .May"
330:, at his studio, and locations around
940:Smith, Russell Scott (May 16, 2003).
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273:Sedaris and Dinello first pitched to
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837:Hernandez, Ernio (April 20, 2003).
611:The Daily Show (January 10, 2001).
521:The Daily Show (January 10, 2001).
890:Hernandez, Ernio (June 30, 2003).
822:. January 21, 2007. Archived from
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458:Spitznagel, Eric (March 1, 2004).
200:is a satirical novel by comedians
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862:Haithman, Diane (July 27, 2003).
586:Schlegel, Chad (April 30, 2003).
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915:Hernandez, Ernio (May 9, 2003).
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758:. April 28, 2003. Archived from
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460:"An Interview with Amy Sedaris"
731:. January 2003. Archived from
1:
697:Mcgee, Celia (May 24, 2003).
496:Metz, Nina (April 27, 2003).
985:. You can help Knowledge by
554:Helbig, Jack (May 1, 2003).
305:a town he had visited for "
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1047:American satirical novels
350:Publication and reception
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1062:Books by Stephen Colbert
303:Jefferson, West Virginia
19:For the pop singer, see
864:"Stage adaptation lite"
826:on September 27, 2022.
723:"Amy Sedaris Wigs Out"
600:on September 28, 2023.
433:Lucille Lortel Theatre
246:This section is empty.
23:. For other uses, see
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977:This article about a
942:"POKING FUN AT RUBES"
762:on February 16, 2023.
419:’s Marvin Center and
392:theatrical adaptation
336:Milford, Pennsylvania
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904:on December 1, 2020.
728:Entertainment Weekly
639:Jones, Chad (2003).
568:on December 8, 2021.
413:Woodruff Arts Center
399:through May 9-17 at
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16:Book by Amy Sedaris
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60:Paul Dinello
613:"Down Town"
523:"Down Town"
386:Adaptations
332:Port Jervis
328:Todd Oldham
202:Amy Sedaris
107:May 7, 2003
55:Amy Sedaris
1036:Categories
750:"Wigfield"
539:October 2,
445:References
311:New Jersey
269:Background
997:talk page
361:audiobook
177:813/.6 21
129:Paperback
125:Hardcover
92:Publisher
31:Wigfield
21:Whigfield
922:Playbill
897:Playbill
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429:Wigfield
281:about a
275:Hyperion
164:51041798
74:Language
819:Esquire
409:Atlanta
373:Esquire
344:Petland
291:ceramic
123:Print (
77:English
755:Gawker
421:Boston
334:, and
318:Images
208:, and
86:Satire
48:Author
287:David
136:Pages
82:Genre
983:stub
541:2023
379:SCTV
340:drag
283:worm
158:OCLC
145:ISBN
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