Faith Salie Says One-Woman Show ‘A Collaboration’ At Alliance

Faith Salie and Brandon Bush with Lois Reitzes.

Summer Evans / WABE

Many know of Faith Salie as a panelist on NPR’s “Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me,” and as a contributor to CBS’ “Sunday Morning.” She is currently performing onstage at the Alliance Theatre in an adaptation of her memoir, “Approval Junkie”

Though she is performing solo, Salie tells “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes that “there is no such thing as a one-woman show.”

“What goes into one person telling her story is so collaborative,” she says. “And there is so much magic that happens when other people help you see things that you didn’t even know or see about the story you want to tell.”



The Georgia native is returning to the theater where she grew up seeing shows for this world premier. The show follows Salie from winning her high school beauty pageant to picking the perfect outfit to wear to her divorce.

“You’re living in some person’s world,” says the show’s composer Brandon Bush, “and you’re just concentrating on them. And you need that world of reference. You really need this scaffolding of production to give relief to this person that is putting on the show!”

After rehearsing and performing with the music, Salie jokes that she can no longer go through life “without a bespoke score, anymore.”

“I figured sound design is for the audience,” she explains, “I had no idea that sound design would be for me. When I hear Brandon’s music come up between scenes, shifting me emotionally, it is like a buoy.”

“Approval Junkie” is onstage at the Alliance through April 28. There will be a special WABE performance on April 26, including a post-show talk back hosted by Lois Reitzes.