WIT by Margaret Edson at Hub Theatre of Boston

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2. WIT by Margaret Edson

The Hub Theatre Company of Boston presents Wit by Pulitzer Prize winning author Margaret Edson November 4-19) at First Church Boston, 66 Marlborough Street in Boston’s Back Bay.

In the show The New York Times calls “wise, witty and wrenching,” Edson questions what we value most when our days are numbered. This forceful and funny piece examines relationships, compassion and finding the essential balance between science and art, head and heart. With no right or wrong answers, this provocative and profoundly moving play allows each of us to consider how to live, who to live for, and what we value most when there is little time left. Wit asks us all the question: What do you do when you learn you are about to die?

Directed by John Geoffrion (Hub’s Artistic Director) and featuring Elliot Norton Award Winner Liz Adams as Vivian Bearing, Ph.D., a professor of seventeenth-century English poetry and an expert in the fiendishly difficult poetry of John Donne. Demanding of herself and others, she’s allowed herself little time to cultivate a life outside of her all consuming quest for knowledge. But when she’s diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she’s forced to confront her own mortality with a profundity and humor that transforms her, and all who witness her remarkable journey.

According to Geoffrion, “Few plays, if any, deal as directly with the subject of mortality as immediately, unflinchingly, and as stripped of artifice and romanticism as Wit.” He adds, “With no grieving love interest, no villain (except cancer), and none of the usual storytelling tropes to rely on, it nonetheless provides a uniquely compelling theatrical experience.”

“What I love about Wit is that everyone is doing what they think is right in the given circumstances,” says Managing Director Lauren Elias. “There is a valid debate as to whether the rights, comfort and dignity of an individual in their final days outweighs a scientific breakthrough that might help others at their expense. After seeing our play, audience members will land on different ‘sides’ of these complex issues. In truth, there is no ‘right’ way to feel about this show--and that is amazing!”

Hub Theatre Company has assembled a cast and crew of 22 to bring this moving, thought-provoking play to the stage. Robert Bonotto (Dr. Kelekian and Vivian's Father), Lauren Elias (Susie), Tim Hoover (Jason), Dayenne Walters (E.M. Ashford), Leah Carnow (Ensemble), Blyss Cleveland (Ensemble), Albert Scerbo (Ensemble) and Grace Trapnell (Ensemble).

This production team includes JP Pizzuti (sets), Chris Bocchiaro (lights), Nancy Ishihara (costumes), Deirdre Benson (sound), Kelly Smith (props), Emma Putnam (fight choreographer), George Page (production manager), Caitlin Mason (stage manager), and Kristen Heider (assistant stage manager). Mark Estano RN, and Jack A. Elias, M.D., Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences at Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School will be the medical advisors for the production of Wit.

Wit is Margaret Edson's first and only play. Edson was born in Washington, D.C. in 1961. Between earning degrees in history and literature, she worked in the oncology/AIDS unit of a research hospital, where she had firsthand exposure to patients' struggles. Edson lives in Atlanta, Ga., where she is an elementary school teacher. Wit also received the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Circle Award, the Drama League Award and the Lucille Lortel Award in 1999.

Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 5 pm. All performances are “Pay-What-You-Can”. Donations of children’s books will be collected at each performance and distributed to local charities. For tickets and information visit, www.hubtheatreboston.org

The Hub Theatre Company of Boston is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional non-Equity theatre company committed to entertaining, imaginative, literate, socially aware, and emotionally engaging theatre in intimate settings. In the interest of cultivating a diverse audience, all tickets to all performances are Pay-What-You-Can.