Fadil Berisha; HBO/Everett Collection
NEED TO KNOW
Candace Bushnell is taking the story of her life to the stage, starring in Candace Bushnell: Tales of Sex, Success and Sex in the City at the George Street Playhouse
She talks to PEOPLE about what inspired her to take her life's story to the stage
"Originally, Carrie Bradshaw was basically me," she shares
Candace Bushnell wants you to walk a mile in her shoes, and by extension, Carrie Bradshaw's shoes — Manolo Blahniks to be specific.
The author and television producer, 67, is taking her one-woman show,Candace Bushnell: Tales of Sex, Success and Sex in the City,to the George Street Playhouse. She talks to PEOPLE about what inspired her to take her life's story to the stage and bring it back to the city where it all started.
The show spans her life, from when she first came to New York City in the late 1970s to Studio 54 and writingSex and the City,which was inspired by her own life.
"Originally, Carrie Bradshaw was basically me, and that's one of the things that's a big part of the show, it's aboutSex and the City,how I createdSex and the City,how hard I worked to get there and why I invented Carrie Bradshaw," Bushnell shares.
Anna Maguire
She says there's even a part of the stage show called "Real or Not Real," where she delves into fact or fiction, revealing which plotlines came from her own past and which ones were created for the series.
"The show is prettySex and the City-oriented. I talk about my Charlotte, my Samantha and my Miranda," she says. "Carrie Bradshaw is the character that was based on me, probably closer at the beginning of the series, and then it takes on a life of its own, which is fantastic because you want that to happen."
"People are usually surprised by, in some ways, how the show mirrored my own life. Certainly at the beginning," she continues. "Audiences aren't so aware of that. I didn't end up with my Mr. Big. I do tell that story about our breakup."
The idea for her Off-Broadway show began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she met a Hollywood manager who suggested that she do a one-woman show.
Advertisement
"But it just seemed absolutely impossible. It seemed impossible to write a play for somebody who had no connections; it just wasn't gonna happen," Bushnell, who had dreams of making it to the stage when she first moved to N.Y.C., shares with PEOPLE.
Still, she wrote a draft, got a director and raised money to put the show on at the Bucks County Playhouse. From there, she took the show to the Daryl Roth Theatre, an Off-Broadway venue in New York City. Since then, she's performed her show all over the world.
Marion Ettinger
"I just kept doing it. I've done it three times at Café Carlyle. I've actually done it all over the world. I've done it twice at The London Palladium to a sold-out crowd," Bushnell says. "There were things that were really surprising that at first, I didn't even know what it was going to be."
"When we were doing it at Bucks County Playhouse, I was having to rewrite it and also memorize it," she explains. "Then it evolved to being this show that I've done all over the world."
Bushnell says humor is a crucial part of the show, and she watched stand-up comedians to get the tone and timing just right. She hopes the audience is entertained, but even further than that, she hopes they're inspired.
"It's about being revealing, and that might not be something that one wants to do in real life, be revealing all the time, but it worked on stage. People seem to find it very inspiring. It's a story of, in some ways, a self-made woman and the ups and downs of that," Bushnell shares.
Candace Bushnell: Tales of Sex, Success and Sex in the Cityis on at the George Street Playhouse for two performances starting Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.
Read the original article onPeople
