Tina Fey, creator, writer, and star of “30 Rock” spoke last night at the Central branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia during the Philadelphia Book Festival to promote her new book, “BossyPants.” Fey, who graduated from Upper Darby High School, was thrilled to be back in town.
“I first became interested in the theater when I was active in a community theater program in Upper Darby during my junior and senior years of high school. I went from a nerd with no friends to a theater buff with a gaggle of gay friends, ” said Fey, who was the first female head writer of “Saturday Night Live.” “Without that program, I might have become a dental hygienist.”
Blue collar Upper Darby might be surprised to discover that Fey found it to be a haven for gays. “As Wales is to crooners, Upper Darby is to gays,” said Fey.
Fey’s husband, comedian Jeff Richmond, came up with the title “Bossypants. “I asked him to describe me. Bossypants was the least offensive,” she said.
She wanted “the public to realize that as creator of “30 Rock” she is indeed the boss of 200 people.” She hates when people ask her how it feels to be the boss.
“Nobody asks Donald Trump, how he feels about being the boss,” she complained. Fey advises women to “go under, over and through discrimination and not to let it stop you.”
While she agonized about getting pregnant with her second child in the book, Fey was proudly displaying a baby bump.
“My husband and I decided to make family a priority and stop hoping for the cancellation of ‘30 Rock,’” Fey joked.
“Bossypants,” which feels like it was written by her alter ego Liz Lemon, has been compared to the works of David Sedaris and Nora Ephron.
