At the start of Wit, Vivian Bearing, Ph.D., a renowned professor of English who has spent years studying and teaching brilliantly difficult Holy Sonnets of the metaphysical poet John Donne, has been diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.
Play title: Wit
Author (s): Margaret Edson
Publisher: Broadway Play Publishing, Inc.
Publication Date: 1999
Genre: Drama
Primary Discipline: Medicine
Scientist (s): Fictional
Source Texts: Unknown
Character Breakdown: 3 Men, 3 Women, Ensemble
Vivian Bearing, Harvey Kelekian, Jason Posner, Susie Monahan, E.M. Ashford, Mr. Bearing, Lab Technicians, Clinical Fellows, Students, Code Team
Setting: University Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Time Period: Present Day
Synopsis of Play: In this extraordinary play, Margaret Edson has created a work that is as intellectually challenging as it is emotionally immediate. At the start of Wit, Vivian Bearing, Ph.D., a renowned professor of English who has spent years studying and teaching brilliantly difficult Holy Sonnets of the metaphysical poet John Donne, has been diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. Her approach to her illness is not unlike her approach to the study of Donne: aggressively probing and intensely rational. But during the course of her illness – and her stint as a prize patient in an experimental chemotherapy program at a major teaching hospital – Vivian comes to reassess her life and her work with a profundity and humor that are transformative both for her and for the audience. (play text cover blurb, Broadway Play Publishing, Inc.)
First Performance Date: January 24th, 1995
First Producer: South Coast Repertory Theatre
Performance History: Wit was first performed at the South Coast Repertory Theater in Costa Mesa, California , on January 24th, 1995. It was produced by South Coast Repertory, David Emmes, producing director, and Martin Benson, artistic director. The production was directed by Martin Benson. the set was designed by Cliff Faulkner; the costume design was by Katy Peebles; the lighting design was by Paulie Jenkins; the music and sound design were by Michael Roth. the production manager was Michael Mora. the stage manager was Randall K. Lum. The production opened originally at the Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut, on October 31, 1997. Doug Hughes, artistic director; Michael Ross managing director. It opened in New York at MCC Theatre, September 17th, 1998. Robert LuPone and Bernard Telsey, executive directors; William Cantler, associate director.
Links:
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/jan/27/wit-review-julie-hesmondhalgh-raz-shaw-manchester
https://variety.com/1997/legit/reviews/wit-3-111732326/
http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/theater/reviews/1955/
https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2018/01/13/review-wit-silver-spring-stage/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/02/06/news-from-nowhere
http://chicagotheaterbeat.com/2014/05/23/wit-review-astonrep-theatre/
Entered by: Meaghan Yesford
Photo/Visual Research with citations
2018, The Public Theatre 2018, The Public Theatre
2018, The Public Theatre 2018, The Public Theatre
2018, The Public Theatre 2018, The Public Theatre
2018, The Public Theatre Royal Exchange, Photo: Jonathan Keenan
