“No. No. No. No. No!” For the new biographical play “Joan,” world premiering on the South Coast Repertory stage, Joan Rivers’ daughter Melissa Rivers was asked, if her assertive mother were still alive, would she have badgered  Melissa to play herself in the show? “She couldn’t get the words out of her mouth before I said no,” said Melissa, a creative consultant on the new show, during a recent phone interview. But would Melissa have been listened to? “That,” she said, with something approaching a  resigned sigh, “is better left between me and my therapist.” Melissa Rivers unveils the newly created bust of her mother, Joan Rivers, a 2017 Inductee into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, prior to the 26th Hall of Fame ceremony in 2022. (Photo by Dan Steinberg, Invision for The Television Academy/AP Images) A decade after her death, the insightful, brassy and riotously entertaining Joan Rivers remains inarguably America’s most consequential woman ever to step up to a mic and do stand-up comedy. Through live performance and, largely, via television, she shapeshifted her sharp-witted, self-deprecating humor — in later years retooled and weaponized on red carpets to deadly skewer those in the limelight — into a half-century career as the funny girl who became an entertainment trailblazer. Joan Rivers poses in Los Angeles in 1965. (File photo by /Dan Grossi, The Associated Press) Her challenging, often hard road — with plenty of one-liners chauffeuring the journey — is captured in the new, one-act play opening on the theater’s Julianne Argyros Stage. Melissa Rivers’s aspirations for “Joan” go beyond jokes. The goal is to explore Joan’s personal life as well as the dynamics of their mother-daughter relationship. “What you saw on stage was her, but not necessarily the person that she actually was. They were so vastly different and while I have fought hard for the funny, I want audiences to know more about the total her.” THE PLAYWRIGHT NEXT DOOR The show has four actors playing multiple roles including Joan, young Joan, Melissa, boyfriend, husband, bellhop, manager, heckler and even career booster turned ultimate show biz foe, Johnny Carson. A chief focus for the show’s playwright Daniel Goldstein has been to capture the layering’s in Joan’s life story, back to her earliest years in Larchmont, N.Y. Joan Rives, shown in 2009, is the subject of a new biographical play, “Joan,” which will receive its world premiere at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa on Nov. 1. (Photo by Lionel Cironneau, The Associated Press) A writer and veteran theater director, Goldstein certainly knows Joan’s geographical roots as well as anyone could. “I grew up in Larchmont where the two favorite sons from there were always Joan Rivers and Matt Damon,” he said. “I saw her perform for the first time at a benefit for my high school.” His earliest encounter with Joan was a pressure-jolt moment. Playwright and theater director Daniel Goldstein grew up in Larchmont, N.Y., which proudly proclaims itself the home town of Joan Rivers. (Courtesy of South Coast Repertory) “This was after a play in New York. I was there with my fiancé (coincidentally also named) Melissa and we were introduced to Joan,” recalled Goldstein. “And, immediately she didn’t say anything to me. She just said to Melissa, ‘Where’s the ring?’ “So, Melissa flashed the ring on her finger and Joan cast blunt judgment: ‘You did very well.’” Goldstein laughed, recalling that beyond relief, “I was very proud of myself that Joan Rivers approved of my choice of a ring.” Joan Rivers interviews Miss America Suzette Charles while guest-hosting “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1984. (AP Photo) In researching “Joan” he also came to understand more about Joan the professional from her own perspective. “For instance, it’s interesting because Joan talked about that she wasn’t successful because she was a woman, (but) that she was successful, and she was a woman. “While there’s no doubting she was hugely influential on other women to do stand-up, she didn’t see pigeonholing herself in that way.” A TREASURE TROVE OF JOKES A tangible legacy of Joan’s humor is a massive compendium of more than 65,000 jokes, written by her or writers working with and for her. The devoutly analog collection, now housed at the National Comedy Center in New York state, is typed up on small cards. “It is incredible,” said Goldstein, who accessed the treasure trove of wisecracks  while researching play material. Comedian Joan Rivers poses next to her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during her induction ceremony in Los Angeles in 1989. (File photo by Doug Sheridan, The Associated Press) “It’s an old school wooden card catalog. Like when you were in kindergarten and went to the library and they found your book organized by using the Dewey Decimal system.” The material is organized by subject. The biggest topic of jokes, 1,756 of them, is filed under the word “tramp,” Joan’s go-to descriptor in the ‘70s-’80s about women of questionable behavior in those times. Many of the cards are subcategorized within a larger category. For instance, under the A-list ’50s-70s movie star Elizabeth Taylor — the era’s klieg-light focal point for tabloid gossip due more to off-screen relationships than movies — Goldstein found Liz Taylor “fat” jokes, Liz Taylor “old” jokes, Liz Taylor “Michael Jackson” jokes, etc. Goldstein salts the play with Joan’s biting humor. He also fashioned a couple one-liners of his own in her style to fit the needs of the storytelling. “There is a brilliant joke writer named Larry Amoros who worked with Joan, and I had him as a sounding board. I bounced a line I’d written off him that is in the show and he said, ‘That’s pretty good, where’d you find that one?’ “Maybe my proudest writing moment here.” ILLUMINATING THE PERSON In 2008, Joan starred in a self-written, autobiographical play called “A Work in Progress.” It was more about the ups and downs of the life Joan was living as she aged. This piece is much broader, capturing key aspects of Joan’s offstage life to help audiences better understand the woman, not just the show-biz star. “My mother was raised first generation American,” said Melissa.  “Her parents were Russian immigrants, and they had seen everything in your life could be taken away at any given moment.” Melissa believes that that underpinning of fear, plus never feeling quite good enough growing up, was part of her mother’s DNA. “That, and ambition. Ambition was a never-stop part of her core. Seize opportunities or make them … just go and go no matter how things are going.” Melissa, left, and Joan Rivers pose for a portrait in 2011. (Photo by Jeff Christensen, The Associated Press) There were humbling lows. A failed attempt to start a late-night talk show led to industry and public blowback, which was part of what led to her husband and business partner Edgar’s suicide. Unbeknownst to her, he had largely squandered their fortune. At 54, Joan was $37 million in debt, and nobody was willing to hire her. But, as Joan — whose ultimate financial worth would total $150 million —  later wrote in her book “Enter Talking”: “Never stop believing. Never give up. Never quit. Never!” “Her level of constant creativity, the way her mind worked, determination was in every area,” said Melissa. “I heard that my whole life.” Even now, Joan’s voice can still get into Melissa’s head at times. A good thing sometimes, perhaps, but at other times … “Oh, I wish it would stop,” said Melissa. “It wasn’t exactly a melodious tone.” Performers on the first episode of “The Late Show” pose with star Joan Rivers, Oct. 9, 1986. From left: Elton John, Joan Rivers, Cher, and Pee Wee Herman. (AP Photo/Galbraith) Joan died unexpectedly 10 years ago at 81. The New York medical examiner determined she died of brain damage due to lack of oxygen following a botchED surgical procedure on her throat. Joan had wanted an open casket at her funeral. Cremated, that didn’t happen. Related links Chance Theater deftly takes on the workplace play, ‘Gloria’ ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at South Coast Repertory is a satisfying morsel ‘Waitress’ serves up a heaping helping of top-notch theater in La Mirada South Coast Repertory announces hiring of new managing director South Coast Repertory announces its 2024-25 season Still, after death, Joan got in the final words, in this cavalcade of one-liners she wrote well in advance: “When I die (and yes, Melissa, everything’s in your name), I want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action. I want it to be Hollywood all the way. I don’t want some rabbi rambling on; I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents. I want to look gorgeous, better dead than I do alive. I want to be buried in a Valentino gown, and I want Harry Winston to make me a toe tag. “And I want a wind machine so that even in the casket my hair is blowing just like Beyonce’s.” ‘Joan’ Where: Argyros stage, South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa When: Previews ARE Oct. 27-31. Regular performances Nov. 1-24. 7:45 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 2 and 7:45 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $35-$114 Information: 714-708-5555; scr.org