PUTNEY — When Hallie Flower tells people about the new production of “Wit” that she's directing for the Apron Theater Company, she says they too often respond, “Isn't that that cancer play?”
Flower is a little chagrined that Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play should be pigeonholed as a medical drama. Although “Wit” does indeed concern a woman with cancer, Flower feels it is about so much more.
Apron Theater Company and Next Stage Arts Project present Edson's “Wit,” directed by Hallie Flower, on two weekends from Thursday, July 11 until Saturday, July 20. Shows are at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinée on Sunday, July 14.
The cast includes Keely Eastley, Greg Lesch, Mark Bateman, Julia Tadlock, Jeanne L. Austin Ben Stockman, Ann-Marie White, Noah Flower DesJardins, and Amanda Whitney. The production team includes Carrie Kidd (assistant director), Jon Hathaway (set designer), Vivian K. Smith (costume designer), John Todd (lighting designer), and Katia Morosan (stage management).
“Wit” follows the final hours of Dr. Vivian Bearing (played by Eastley), a brilliant and exacting poetry professor specializing in the “Holy Sonnets” of 17th century poet John Donne. As she undergoes an experimental treatment for ovarian cancer, she confronts her illness with the same probing intellect she applies to her work.
Under the care of Dr. Kelekian (Lesch), research fellow, Dr. Jason Posner (Bateman), and her primary nurse, Suzie Monahan (Tadlock), Bearing enters an unfamiliar world that calls into question the choices and habits of a lifetime.
“'Wit' is the only play by the incomparable Edson,” says Flower. She adds that she believes she knows why Edson wrote only one play:
“The author herself has described 'Wit' as an examination of kindness, human connection, and finding a way to grace. Edson wrote 'Wit' because she felt it was only way she could explore issues that concerned her.”
Edson used her work experience as unit clerk in the AIDS and cancer treatment wing of a research hospital as part of the inspiration for her drama.
“The play documents the last hours of an outstanding intellect,” explains Flower. “Yet the cancer is only an accoutrement of the plot. Ovarian cancer becomes the crucible to push Bearing through to help her consider how to live and what gets left behind when one is leaving life.
'Wit' poses a series of challenging questions: When is intellect a strength or limitation? What is the power of human kindness? How do we face and accept our mortality? How can we live a full and connected life?"
Flower says she believes that this is a play about transcending who we are as we move past the limitations of self through connecting with people around us.
The New York Times has called “Wit” a “brutally human and beautifully layered new play” which makes audiences “feel both enlightened and, in a strange way, enormously comforted.”
“Although its subject matter is death and cancer, I feel 'Wit' should make audiences feel hopeful,” Flower says.
Flower adds that she feels honored to present this beautiful play with her gifted cast.
“Keely Eastley is amazing in the demanding central character of Dr. Vivian Bearing,” she says. “It is a particularly strenuous journey for an actor. I can honestly say without hyperbole that this gifted and accomplished actor with an astounding heart has applied herself to convey one woman's spiritual journey. I think it is a performance that everyone should see.
“Another very special member of our cast is Jeanne Austin, who plays Vivian's college professor. Jeanne has also encouraged us to be unafraid of speaking to her about with ovarian cancer. She has only just completed treatment herself. She hopes audiences will raise their awareness not just to the themes of the play, but [also] to this less visible cancer.”
“Wit” is the first production of the newly reformed Apron Theater Company founded by Karla Baldwin, Hallie Flower, and Carrie Kidd. Although Baldwin and Flower had been involved in an earlier version of the company for a couple of seasons about a decade ago, Apron has been defunct until now.
“I left the area never imagining I would come back,” Flowers says, “But when I did, Baldwin came to me and asked, 'How about restarting Apron?'” Hallie thought it was a terrific idea, and so with Baldwin and Kidd, Apron Theater Company was reborn. Flower adds, “Although Baldwin and I were there at the beginning, a recent addition, Carrie Kidd, is the third person in the artistic director triumvirate. She is assistant director for 'Wit,' and will be director for our final production in the fall.”
“Wit” marks not only Apron's return to the local theater scene, but also Apron's first production as the Next Stage Arts Project's “theater-company-in-residence.”
Next Stage board member Billy Straus says, “We are thrilled to be expanding our repertoire of cultural presentations in the community to include theater, and particularly of this caliber. Apron is a wonderful partner for our organization.”
“Karla, Carrie, and myself could not undertake such a challenging summer of work without this residency,” Flower says.
Up next for Apron Theater Company: this summer's “The Cripple of Inishmaan” by Martin McDonagh, directed by Baldwin, and this fall's “Death of Salesman” by Arthur Miller, directed by Kidd.