The play DIVA was a career turning point.  Director Mike Nichols got involved with it early on, attracting the attention of the movie side of the business at a time when there was a sharp divide between television and feature writers.  DIVA’s challenging structure (it goes backward in time) drew Gould from sitcoms toward longer form work.

After Nichols’s planned Los Angeles production fell through and other commitments precluded his continuing involvement, the play debuted at Williamstown Theatre Festival and then La Jolla Playhouse in back to back productions directed by Neel Keller.  It was subsequently published by Samuel French, included in an anthology, and produced at various theaters around the country.

The published versions contain numerous Hollywood references which were timely when the play premiered but which have aged poorly.  Every so often Gould refreshes those references; updates are available through Samuel French on request by producing theater companies.