From the ad Wertenberger discovered the play's action takes place "in and around Dillsboro, N.C., home of Dillsboro Pickle Factory" with the main character of Emma, who moves back to her hometown to open a family inn.
"That's just too coincidental - here the main character had my name, lived in Dillsboro and ran an inn. I knew I had to find out more about," Wertenberger said, her curiosity peaked.
So she and her husband traveled to the old trolley station in historic Stone Mountain Village, which has been converted to an Art Station, complete with galleries and a theatre.
"Right away I was taken back by Judy Leavell, who plays Emma, a widow who moves back to her hometown of Dillsoro to open a family inn. There were moments when I went, 'Oh gee, she does remind me of me.'"
In the play, Emma won the title of Dillsboro Pickle Queen in 1955, and that prompted her to go to New York to seek her fame and fortune as an actress.
Only receiving bit parts, Emma soon becomes disillusioned. When she is widowed, she decides to return home, accompanied by Paul, her son the writer-wanna-be. His girlfriend is an aspiring actress.
"My son Tom's girlfriend is also an aspiring actress," Wertenberger said, explaing yet another coincidence.
"Paul decides to kill himself by falling asleep on the tracks at night, but he forgot the train doesn't run at night. That reminded me of our 'No Trains at Night' motel," Wertenberger said. "There's really a lot of humor in this play. In fact, it's billed as a romantic comedy."
After the play Wertenberger couldn't wait to meet the young playwright, Peter Turner.
"Turns out Peter had been to Dillsboro and stayed at the Applegate Inn with John and Andre Fulk, so there was some factual basis to this play," she said. "But as for the Emma part, Peter never met me. He said he just made up the character."
The Fulks, along with Helen Baum, also went to see the play and remarked on the uncanny resemblance between Emma Schoen and Emma Wertenberger.
"The actress playing Emma looked like our Emma - she walked like her and talked like her. We were flabbergasted," said John Fulk. "Her smile was like Emma's, and she even wore her hair like Emma does. Her voice inflections were the same, so much it was unbelievable. I told Andre, 'She's not just like Emma. She is Emma.'"
Wertenberger said the play was done "very imaginatively with scenery and staging. I asked Peter if the play could be produced in Jackson County, and he thought it would work, so I sent him information on our Kudzu Players and University Players.
"I loved what his playbill said about Dillsboro - 'Home of the Dillsboro Pickle Factory where everyone deserve the tickle of a fresh, delicious Dillsboro Pickle,'" Wertenberger said.
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