Someday, Someday, Maybe
Lauren Graham, 2013
Ballentine Books
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780345532749
Summary
From Lauren Graham, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood, comes a witty, charming, and hilariously relatable debut novel about a struggling young actress trying to get ahead―and keep it together―in New York City.
It’s January 1995, and Franny Banks has just six months left of the three-year deadline she set for herself when she came to New York, dreaming of Broadway and doing “important” work. But all she has to show for her efforts so far is a part in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters, and a gig waiting tables at a comedy club. Her roommates―her best friend Jane, and Dan, an aspiring sci-fi writer―are supportive, yet Franny knows a two-person fan club doesn’t exactly count as success.
Everyone tells her she needs a backup plan, and though she can almost picture moving back home and settling down with her perfectly nice ex-boyfriend, she’s not ready to give up on her goal of having a career like her idols Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. Not just yet. But while she dreams of filling their shoes, in the meantime, she’d happily settle for a speaking part in almost anything—and finding a hair product combination that works.
Everything is riding on the upcoming showcase for her acting class, where she’ll finally have a chance to perform for people who could actually hire her. And she can’t let herself be distracted by James Franklin, a notorious flirt and the most successful actor in her class, even though he’s suddenly started paying attention. Meanwhile, her bank account is rapidly dwindling, her father wants her to come home, and her agent doesn’t return her calls. But for some reason, she keeps believing that she just might get what she came for.
Someday, Someday, Maybe is a story about hopes and dreams, being young in a city, and wanting something deeply, madly, desperately. It’s about finding love, finding yourself, and perhaps most difficult of all in New York City, finding an acting job. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—March 16, 1967
• Where—Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
• Raised—outside Washington, DC
• Education—B.A., Barnard College; M.F.A., Southern
Methodist University
• Currently—lives in New York City and Los Angeles, California
CLauren Helen Graham is an American actress, producer and novelist. She is best known for playing Lorelai Gilmore on the WB Network dramedy series Gilmore Girls and Sarah Braverman on Parenthood.
Graham was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Donna Grant, was a fashion buyer, and her father, Lawrence Graham, was a candy industry lobbyist, who is the current president for National Confectioners Association. Graham was raised Catholic, and has Irish ancestry. She was five years old when her parents were separated and moved to Washington, D.C., where her father became a congressional staffer. Her mother now lives in London. Graham has a half-sister and a half-brother from her father's second marriage and a British half-sister from her mother's second marriage, Shade Grant, who works at a talent agency.
As a girl, Graham rode horses competitively, but soon switched to acting, honing her talent at Langley High School, where she took part in the drill team and graduated in 1984. Graham earned her actor's equity card in 1988 after two years in summer stock at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan. She graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. After moving to Texas in 1992, Graham earned a Master of Fine Arts in Acting Performance from Southern Methodist University.
Career
After completing her education, Graham moved back to New York City where she earned her living as a waitress and tutor teaching SAT test prep for The Princeton Review. While she aspired to become an actress, she made publicity appearances wearing the costume of Striker, the dog mascot of the US-based 1994 FIFA World Cup. In 1995, she relocated to Hollywood, California. She appeared in various commercials for products such as Dimetapp and Lean Cuisine and hosted free preview weekends on The Movie Channel.
In addition to her many guest starring and co-starring roles on prime-time television, Graham starred in four failed sitcoms, including Townies (with Molly Ringwald and Jenna Elfman), the short-lived sitcom Lush Life (with Lori Petty and Karyn Parsons), and M.Y.O.B., which was burned off by NBC in the summer months before the premiere of Gilmore Girls.
Between 1996 and 1997, Graham became a regular guest star on several hit NBC shows. She played a graduate student who caught the eye of Dick on 3rd Rock from the Sun, Richard's overly-optimistic girlfriend on Caroline in the City, and Jerry's speed-dial ranking girlfriend on Seinfeld. She played a Hollywood producer who had a love interest in Rey Curtis in a three-part episode of Law & Order, where she acted opposite Scott Cohen, who would later play one of Graham's love interests, Max Medina, on Gilmore Girls. She also portrayed an antagonizing but friendship-starved efficiency expert on Newsradio. She was meant to be the permanent replacement for the departing Newsradio regular Khandi Alexander, but viewers disliked the character.
In 2000, Graham landed her breakthrough role as Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls. For her work she received a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama) at the 2001 Golden Globe Awards. Beginning with Season 7 episode "To Whom It May Concern" and continuing throughout the rest of the season, Graham served as a producer on Gilmore Girls. TV Guide reported that she received the position in an attempt to persuade her to sign for an eighth season.
Graham returned to her guest-starring roots when she portrayed herself in two episodes of NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Graham has also appeared in the second season of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, co-hosted by Dave Foley of Newsradio. After winning her preliminary match, she came in second to another former Newsradio star, Maura Tierney, in the championship game.
Graham's film roles encompass several NYU student films and multiple major studio releases, including Sweet November, Bad Santa, The Pacifier, Because I Said So, and Evan Almighty.
Graham has said that she enjoys playing in short films, and acting in the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has performed in numerous short films, including the 15-minute long Gnome. In 2007, Graham signed a seven-figure development deal with NBC in one of the year's richest TV talent pacts.
Graham has also worked as the voice-over announcer in national advertising for Kellogg's various Special K products, and in American Express ads introducing the Plum Card, which is targeted towards small and growing businesses.
Graham made her Broadway debut as Miss Adelaide in the revival of Guys and Dolls, which began preview performances at the Nederlander Theatre on February 5, 2009 and opened on March 1, 2009. Initial reviews for this performance have been mixed, but generally regard her fresh take on the character as a success. The production closed June 14, playing 113 shows and 28 previews.
On October 9, 2009, it was announced that Graham would replace Maura Tierney in the television series Parenthood as single mother Sarah Braverman. Tierney left the show to seek treatment for cancer. The series debuted on NBC the following year, and was later renewed for a second season.
In July 2012, Graham was a guest judge in the first episode of Season 10 of the reality television series Project Runway.
Writing
Graham's debut novel Someday, Someday, Maybe, a work based on a fictionalization of her experiences in the New York acting scene in the mid-1990s, was released in 2013.
Personal
Lauren Graham has reportedly dated Tate Donovan (2002), Matthew Perry (2003) and Marc Blucas (2005). She has been in a relationship with her Parenthood co-star Peter Krause since 2010. She owns an apartment in Manhattan and a house in Los Angeles. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 5/25/2013.)
Book Reviews
Graham…has smartly mined just the right details from her own experience, infusing her work with crackling dialogue and observations about show business that ring funny and true. Despite its forays into predictable chick-lit territory, her book succeeds as a winning, entertaining read largely because of Graham's confidence and ceaselessly observant wit…just like the screenwriters of the best romantic comedies, she has taken elements of the familiar and spun them into a novel that's heartfelt, hilarious and, hopefully, just the first example of what she can do with the written word.
Jen Chaney - Washington Post
With insight, care, and an abundance of humor, [Graham] demonstrates that her acting chops are not her only talent.
Library Journal
In TV-star Graham's debut, an aspiring actress runs up against a self-imposed deadline: Make it in NYC within three years, or find another profession. It's 1995, and Franny is about to give up on her goal..... It's make it or break it time, but as is sometimes the case in semiautobiographical novels, the story seems to meander aimlessly, as it might in real life. However, thanks to Graham's affection for her characters as well as her authoritative exposition of the logistics of an actor's working...life, readers will excuse the detours. An entertainment-industry coming-of-age story that manages to avoid many of the cliches of the genre by repurposing them to humorous ends.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think the author chose to tell parts of the story through pages of Franny's Filofax planner? What elements does it add to the novel?
2. Is setting a deadline on your dream a good idea? Or is it unrealistic? Do you think it ultimately helped or hindered Franny's career?
3. Although he only appears as a recorded voice on the answering machine, Clark plays an important role in the story. What does his and Franny's back-up plan represent? What does his engagement force Franny to do?
4. For parts of the novel, Franny adapts to a situation by playing a character she is not. When is she being true to herself? When is she most happy?
5. Why didn't Franny sign with Barney Sparks? What would you have done in her position?
6. Franny appreciates the bridge on the D train because it helps her put things in perspective. Do you have a D train bridge in your life? What is it?
7. Do you agree with Franny's interpretation of love triangles on page 281?
8. Penelope and Franny have an interesting relationship throughout the novel. In what ways does it change? What does Penelope help Franny understand?
9. On page 307, the taxi driver remarks, "How'd it get this far and not go pop?" Why does this resonate with Franny? What could it represent in her life?
10. What does everyone else see in Franny that she doesn't see for herself?
11. On page 335, Franny's father tells her, "Imagine the best for yourself now and then, won't you, hon?" Discuss the importance of having a positive attitude, and how this changes for Franny.
12. The characters throughout the novel have their own individual takes on authenticity. What does it mean to James? How is that different from what it means to Dan, Franny, or Penny? VVhich definition do you agree with? Is it possible to be authentic in an industry that is in itself an artificial craft?
13. How has Franny changed by the end of the novel? What were her most transforming moments? Who most strongly influenced her?
14. Of all the themes in the novel—dreams, hope, friendship, believing in yourself, etc.—which did you find the most compelling? What do you think is the takeaway lesson of the book?
(Questins issued by the publisher.)
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