The True History of The Last Word
When Declan Grogan began writing The Last Word, he didn’t know how to get feedback on his script. Of course, he did the first thing anyone would do: host an elaborate cocktail party read through of the screenplay and force people to tell him what they thought.
Each guest would receive a mysterious invitation informing them their role would be revealed upon arrival and to dress for “a funeral, but sexy.” Finding that craft cocktails were a great selling point for a reading, he continued this process as he refined the script over the next three years.
In January of 2026, six unsuspecting performers received similar invitations. These, however, were not to a small reading in Declan’s living room, but to a live performance in front of a sold out crowd at the iO Theater. Having never seen the script before, they arrived, and, after a night of laughs, tears, and delicious cocktails, the show became an instant hit. Cast member James Cullinane soon joined as co-producer to make the show a recurring performance.
Now a monthly experience, The Last Word stays true to its origins of surprise by locking away the scripts in a vault at the end of each show. The cast is forbidden to see them in any circumstance outside of performance, and new performers always have their first reading live on stage.
When the scripts open at the top of the show, the air in the room is electric. Every night is packed with new surprises both for the audience and the cast. At The Last Word, we only stick to one rule:
No one knows what will happen tonight.
The script outside of the vault
A recipe known solely by two monks of the Carthusian order, Chartreuse is a liqueur made from 130 different plants that is famous as much for its mysterious origins as its flavor.
1084: Seven monks settle in the hills of Chartreuse, France, to form their monastery. Their religious motto being self-sufficiency, they quickly become experts of the environment.
1605: François-Annibal d´Estrées, a royal Marshal, arrives at the monastery with a mysterious document, putting his trust in the monks’ knowledge of the local plants. The document is a recipe for “The Elixir of Long Life”.
1755: For reasons unknown to the public, the monks spend 150 years refining this recipe, until it is declared complete by Brother Jérôme Maubec. It was a strange red liquid, and he wrote “It must not ever leave home.”
1764: After Maubec’s death, Brother Antione Dupuy takes up the work of further refinement until the liqueur achieved its signature green color we know and love today. They called it “The Elixir of Chartreuse”.
1830: Chartreuse becomes a prominent medicine during Europe’s outbreak of cholera. It dons a new name, echoing its first: “The Elixir of Health”.
1840: Chartreuse sales are now the main source of the monastery’s funds, allowing them to devote themselves to larger acts of charity. They continue to make it (although only in limited amounts!) to this day.
All historical information sourced from the official Chartreuse website.
The Strange History of Chartreuse
Producers James Cullinane and Declan Grogan surrounded by a decadent amount of Chartreuse