“My First Ex-Husband,” written by Joy Behar, arrived as part of The Huntington Theatre’s “Huntington Selects” series at the Calderwood Pavilion, kicking off the Boston leg of its national tour Sept. 12 and ran through Sept. 28. The audience was primarily senior citizens, many gathering to see Behar, best known for being a co-host of ABC talk show “The View.”

Promising to be relatable and funny, “My First Ex-Husband” is composed of a series of monologues derived from real women’s commentary on sex, relationships and modern times. The production features four actresses at a time, each delivering monologues throughout the show. The cast switches out every three to four weeks  with new performers, ranging from Tony winners to film and TV stars.

In Boston, the cast included Veanne Cox, Judy Gold and Tonya Pinkins, with Behar and Jackie Hoffman acting in select performances. The stage was set with armchairs and a podium, and each woman stepped up to deliver a speech twice over the course of 90 minutes. The simple execution — a blend of stand-up comedy and theatre by familiar faces —  won over the entire audience within minutes.

The monologues were brave, unfiltered and powerfully authentic. From adultery and sexual expectations to insecurity and compatibility with gender and sexual identity, the stories were explorative escapes from the headaches caused by relationships and marriage.

Directed by Randal Myler and produced by Caiola Productions and Cyrene Esposito, “My First Ex-Husband” premiered in New York City at the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, or MMAC, theater Feb. 6, the original cast including Susie Essman, Tovah Feldshuh, Adrienne C. Moore and Behar.

“It intrigued me to work with each actress, not trying to recreate what the last one did, but working with their strengths, and that became very, very interesting hearing all these women’s different takes on each monologue,” Myler said in an interview with The Huntington News.

Whoopi Goldberg joined the cast in April for a singular appearance alongside actresses Marsha Mason, Marilu Henner and Julia Sweeney. 

“These are women that have honed their craft over decades, and the different styles that they have work for each of them,” Myler said. “My job isn’t to teach them comedy. They know comedy.”

“As a director, I like to not be seen in my work at all,” said Myler, a veteran director and playwright and recognized for his work on Broadway and major theatres nationwide. He was drawn to how stripped-down Behar’s work was. “I don’t think this is a piece where you make a fake setting and overblow what it is. It’s women stepping up to the mic, and [you] shut up and listen to their story.”

In Behar’s introduction to the show, she shared with the audience how she tried to ask men about their experiences, but women were consistently compelling and had more to share. The collection of monologues, drawn from real interviews and performed by a rotating cast, continued to grow as Behar added new pieces inspired by women she met during post-show talkbacks.  

Co-producer Rose Caiola described Behar as an “unbelievably brilliant, motivated female entrepreneur.” Behar was originally an English teacher before becoming a stand-up comic, then joined “The View” at its inception.

Caiola was first drawn to “My First Ex-Husband” because it was “low-hanging fruit in a way, because people just want to laugh,” she said in an interview with The News. The team recouped its investments before playing the first show, which Caiola said was “huge” because on and off Broadway, recouping is hardly achieved at all. The off-Broadway run at MMAC ended May 18, and the show has been on tour since mid-July. 

Caiola said she looks for work that speaks to “the times that we’re living in” and “appeals to a wide demographic of people,” but “now more than ever, post-COVID, and even before, there are challenges with producing live theatre”

A number of the topics, one-liners and punch lines were somewhat bold and politically ambiguous choices, handled comedically yet resolutely. 

“Joy Behar, she’s nothing if not courageous. And her writing is as provocative as her persona in the sense that she does take risks, simply by being a public person that is on a show that’s opinion-based,” Caiola said. “I was a little trepidatious about certain things, and I did try to encourage Joy to potentially filter out some of the political references, but she wouldn’t have it. I totally respect it.”

Caiola is an eight-time Tony Award-winning producer, and Caiola Productions, which she founded with her brother Luigi Caiola, has won seven Tony Awards and two Drama Desk Awards.

 “It’s the industry that’s changed … and in the climate we’re living in now in New York specifically, theatre’s getting harder and harder to produce,” Rose Caiola said. “It’s no longer just about being able to run your show long enough to raise awareness that you have a great, new production. You have to have a star that’s going to drive sales.”

The concept of “My First Ex-Husband” was a predictable means to get audiences to the theatre and reveal something characteristic, simple and profound.

Audience member Wendy Tirk attended the show Sept. 27 in celebration of her 80th birthday. She records and watches “The View” every day and asked her kids for tickets to the show. 

“I adore Joy Behar,” Tirk said. “It was hysterical. It was exactly what I expected.”