Amanda Green takes stock on Broadway

That's why we loved it. A challenge. Doug Wright, who wrote our book, told me about it, so I watched the documentary. It starts out absurd--funny people, human foibles. By the end, I'd grown to care about each of them--they had so much courage and hope. There wasn't one person I didn't want to go home with that truck.

SEE PHOTOS48 celebrities who've had Broadway roles

A lot of them. Doug and I met some of them in Texas. The musical itself isn't a documentary--some things we make up. But it was so rich, getting to know them. Now we text, we exchange Christmas gifts ...

I always wanted to be the female Lyle Lovett.

I'm comfortable with that genre. Y'know ... um ... I don't know why. Of course, this show isn't just country.

And Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Dr. John.

I was trying to get into that at a writer's retreat in Wyoming. I remember being in the shower going, "Hooooo -- hee hee -- hah hah!" People were like -- thump, thump, thump -- "What's going on in there?"

I run lyrics by him all the time. And I have two stepdaughters, Sam and Kate. They're 20 and 17. I love when they come to rehearsals and readings. They're smart -- if they like something, I know it's a win.

I wrote a song and sang it at an anniversary party. I followed ... Leonard Bernstein, Steve Sondheim, Jule Styne, Isaac Stern on the violin. It was an insane lineup. I was around 18. But I wanted to be an actress. Later, in my early twenties, I sang this song, "Worn Out Sweater," in a cabaret. This guy I was dating composed it. I'd written lyrics. It's the first real song I wrote. And it was the most powerful feeling. I was so connected to it -- singing my words. My parents were proud. I fell in love with songwriting then.

They always told me the business was terrible. My mom's an asset -- she's been through so many shows. During previews, she's like, "Don't worry about it -- this is how it goes ... " I'd love to have my dad around to give me advice ... but ... . If I made my dad laugh reading him a lyric of mine, that was a score for me.

He and Betty wrote at our house or hers. But the door was closed. All I can tell you is what they ate. They snacked well.

How fulfilling it is to do what you want to do. But I saw it. I saw them enjoy their work. And my dad -- he was a real role model, because he performed his own stuff all the time. That's how I started, in cabarets. I never would've thought to do that if it weren't for him. That joy I saw ... I felt it, too.

Yeah! I could finally go, "Ohhh, this is what it felt like for him."