Wit tells the story of Dr. Vivan Bearing, a professor of English literature specializing in the works of John Donne, a seventeenth-century metaphysical poet. The play begins with Vivian talking to the audience: she is currently a patient in a major research hospital undergoing treatment for stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer, and she knows the prognosis is not good. She relates how she was diagnosed by her doctor, and then tells the story of her treatment by her doctor and his research fellow students through a full course of an experimental chemotherapy drug, eight rounds. Through this process, through flashback and monologue, we learn Vivian’s history. We learn how she started studying Donne intensely through her graduate school professor, E.M. Ashford. We learned how she learned to love words and their meanings from her father, and how she teaches those words and meanings through her analysis of Donne’s Holy Sonnets, especially Sonnet X:
Death, be not proud, though some have callèd thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which yet thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more, must low
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men
And dost with poison, war and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
We also learn through the play the life of a person being treated with aggressive chemotherapy for eight months. We see the indignities, we see how it can dehumanize someone. We also learn how she is similar to her doctors, preferring pure research to human contact, and thus never learning how to approach people to gain that contact. While in her hospital bed, Vivian recalls her life in the classroom, where she was known as a spell-binding lecturer on Donne and a demanding teacher of literature. Ironically, one of her doctors, Jason, is a former student and now a budding researcher in his own profession, having been inspired by Vivian’s uncompromising scholarship. We also see how Vivian comes to rely on her nurse, Susie, who sees her suffering and treats her with kindness. She helps Vivian decide on a DNR order (Do Not Resuscitate). As she dies, having learned much about life, Vivian is at peace with herself and her mortality. But her research fellow is not: he forgets the order and attempts to revive her. It takes the nurse to remind him of the DNR, and to let Vivian go peacefully. You can find a good study guide on the play here.
Although one doesn’t fully realize it watching the play, the play is intimately tied to the philosophy of Donne, perhaps no more so than Donne famous saying from Meditation XVII: No man is an island. Throughout the play, we learn how Vivian has pushed away human contact. She had no friends, she was harsh on her students. Yet, when the time has from for the bell to toll for Vivian, she craves that which she so strongly pushed away. She only finds, however, doctors who are so strongly focused on research that they have no idea how to comfort their subjects. Thus, Vivian only finds comfort in her nurse and her memories, as she becomes more aware of her mortality (another concept emphasized by Donne) and learns not to fear Death. It is a very moving and compelling story.
This play succeeds or fails on the strength of its acting team, and this one succeeds and soars upward. Leading the team was Susan Watkins (
In the three main named supporting roles are Daniel Lench (
The production was directed by Erin Rivlin (who it turns out is a grad of both VNHS and CSUN), assisted by Ransom Boynton. The production stage manager was Ovington Michael Owston (who does double-duty as the REP’s artistic director). Sound design was by the ever-capable Steven “Nanook” Burkholder, with lighting by Tim Christianson.
“Wit” continues at REP East through April 5. The REPs subsequent productions are “Necessary Targets” by Eve Ensler in the “81 Series” (April 17-May 3) and “The Full Monty” by Terrence McNally with music by David Yazbek (May 16 – June 14).
So what’s next on our theatre calendar? On Sat 4/5 @ 8pm we have the premier of the new musical “Mask” at the Pasadena Playhouse. The following day we’re going to the Sunday matinee performance of “The Who’s Tommy” at Cal State Northridge. I still need to figure out productions for late April and early May — possibilities include “Pippin” at East West Players (5/8-6/8) and “The Immigrant” at Colony Theatre (4/2-5/4). Of course, I’ll be getting tickets to “The Full Monty” at REP East (5/16-6/14). I’ll also be exploring whether there is anything workable from the Festival of New American Musicals. On 5/31, we’re scheduled to see “A Chorus Line” @ 2pm at the Ahmanson, and “Of Mice and Men” @ 8pm at the Pasadena Playhouse. We’re likely to change those due to the performance of “Grease” at Nobel MS on 5/29, 5/30, and 5/31. I’m also looking into “Brain from Planet X“. That takes us to the end of 2Q08.
