Theatre--Review

The production of Wit is number two in an ambitious series of three heavy duty dramas at Opelousas Little Theatre. The first was Proof and the third will be Of Mice and Men.

Briefly, Vivian Bearing, Ph.D. (Cheryl Patin), a John Donne scholar, is in the hospital suffering from Stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer with a very grim prognosis. The play is essentially her lecture to the audience about her experiences in the hospital - and added reminiscences from childhood when she fell in love with words, to being the protégé of mentor E.M.Ashford (Sheryl Ned), to winding up a cold-blooded academic. Although the ending was inevitable, I hasten to add that the play (lecture?) was entertaining, frequently humorous, and always witty! As my acting professor would say, it was a dramedy.

As a retired math professor who had a smattering of jerks in my classes, I bristled at one of Vivian’s students ( Natalie Lacomb). That’s a compliment, Natalie! As a medical researcher (brains, not cancer), I certainly recognized the impersonal medical- grant chasing technocrats, Harvey Kelekian (Bruce Coen) and Jason Posner (Tyler Devillier). As the father of a nurse who did much of her training in an oncology ward, I especially loved the one truly empathetic character in the play, Susie Monahan, R.N. (Ashley Brown).

I was particularly impressed by Cheryl’s performance and Travis’s direction. If the program notes are complete, Cheryl never acted at this level before and this is Travis’s first solo directing project. Extraordinary! Anyway, it was certainly worth $4/gallon to drive here from Lafayette.

Opelousas Little Theatre’s production of Wit, Margaret Edson’s 1999 Pulitzer and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award play, directed by Travis Fontenot, will continue tonight (August 8), August 9, 14, 15, 16, at 7 PM, with one matinee performance this Sunday, August 10, at 2 PM. Tickets can be obtained by calling (337) 948-4367 or at the door.


--Robert D. Sidman, Ph.D.