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PROVINCETOWN GUIDE
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| DIRECTORY |
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Provincetown :: Monday, March 15th 2010
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McNeeley Myers and Elizabeth Clark. Photo by Eileen Counihan.
McNeeley Myers digs deep in Wit
Wit runs from May 28 to May 31
By Stephen Desroches of Provincetown Magazine
May 30th, 2009
Counter Productions’ artistic director Susan Grilli made an ambitious decision tackling playwright Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Wit as one of the theatrical company’s spring productions.
| Take this chance. Reward the production with your support; they should be applauded for taking such a risk and succeeding marvelously. |
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The writing is dense and nuanced, the subject matter heavy, and the performances required to successfully convey the beautiful story within the play must be top-notch; otherwise it would be melodramic and over-the-top. Indeed, it was a tough decision to take on such a work, one that required complete confidence in the talent assembled to perform such a piece. It was a wise decision.
Wit, now playing at the Provincetown Theater, is a powerful and moving experience largely because of the subtle, yet commanding performance of McNeely Myers in the lead role.
Myers portrays Dr. Vivian Bearing, a university professor of 17th century poetry who is diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer. Strict, demanding, and uncompromising, Bearing agrees to take part in a grueling experimental chemotherapy treatment as part of a research study. Research is something Bearing can relate to; she’s dedicated her life to the pursuit of intellectual matters.
But as Bearing faces her own mortality, she sees that the rational world of science and academics provides no adequate substitute for human kindness, compassion, and understanding.
Myers’ job is an important one in this production. While there is a supporting cast, the dialogue is largely internal for the lead role, so much so, with no disrespect to the other members of the company, this is almost a one-woman-show by design.
The character of Dr. Bearing is a bit priggish, at times unlikable. Yet, it is the role of the actress to pull sympathy from the audience members; to reveal just enough weakness, just enough of a buried humanity, so that we ultimately understand the character’s choices, regrets, weaknesses, and inner journey. In the hands of a less capable actress, this role would be merely a caricature. Myers explores all the dimensions and presents a wonderfully, fully-formed character and an excruciatingly compelling performance.
Central to the story told in Wit is the pursuit of understanding the physical world and whether or not humanity is central to that quest for knowledge. Bearing dedicated her life to the scholarship of 17th century metaphysical poet John Donne, particularly his “The Holy Sonnet.” But while she can discuss and debate the usage of semicolons and commas in the work, she has little to no ability to relate to the references to the human condition within. Research without emotion, living without feeling.
Cast members Elizabeth Clark and Ben Griessmeyer provide memorable bookend performances that illustrate the two opposing themes. Griessmeyer plays Dr. Jason Posner, an ambitious, young researcher completing an oncology fellowship. Posner was also once a student of Bearing’s.
Eager to research cancer, Posner has little time for the emotional side of his work and must constantly be reminded to improve his bedside manner. He longs to be in a lab, far from the demands put upon him by actually dealing with people afflicted by what he just wants to study. Griessmeyer plays the role well, fulfilling the complexities of a character blinded by personal ambition, but not so flawed as to be the enemy. The performance generates more pity than resentment for Posner, as well as hope that he might learn one final lesson from Dr. Bearing before it is too late.
Monahan portrays nurse Elizabeth Clark, who is also young and ambitious, but is eager to address not just the medical needs of her patients, but their emotional needs as well. Bearing initially views Clark as a bit simple and unsophisticated. But in the often cold and sterile hospital world, Clark is the only one who provides Bearing with what she actually needs – kindness and friendship.
Monahan’s genuine performance adds great heft to a character that spends brief and fleeting moments on stage. Indeed, it’s this role that is the moral conscience of the story. Monahan is a joy to watch and the performance comforts the audience as the sometimes-difficult story unfolds.
The direction (Valerie Stanford), while solid, lacks in certain areas, most notably the flow of the performance. At times the staging is awkward, so much that it interrupts the story. Nevertheless, Stanford pulled great performances out of her cast and dove head first into the numerous themes meant to be explored in this production.
This is truly a beautiful performance, one that is hauntingly memorable. It is rare, particularly as the summer season approaches in Provincetown, that there is the chance to see a dramatic performance such as Wit in town.
Take this chance. Reward the production with your support; they should be applauded for taking such a risk and succeeding marvelously.
“Wit” by Margaret Edson and starring McNeely Myers is playing at the Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford St., Thursday, May 28 through Sunday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $22.50 for adults and $18.50 for students and seniors. For tickets call 508.487.9793 or go to
www.newprovincetownplayers.com.
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