Description
Wit is not about wit, or words, or even cancer. Ultimately, it's about what happens when our greatest power—in this case, ferocious intellect—cannot save us from death. Margaret Edson's 1999 Pulitzer winner follows Vivian Bearing, a top-of-the-field scholar of the work of 17th-century metaphysical poet John Donne, as she faces virulent ovarian cancer. Director John Gawlik's searing but subtle rendering of Vivian's journey from control to “corny,” as she puts it—a journey that's endured alone, except for her breezy, gentle nurse—dances on the edge of devastating. Moments of agonized pain are tempered by wondrously detailed performances from a skilled cast.—Megan Powell