From Friday, Feb. 29 through Sunday, Mar. 3, the Monmouth University Department of Music & Theatre Arts presented their production of the 1995 Margaret Edson play, “Wit.” The play, which won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, follows the story of English professor Vivian Bearing after she is diagnosed with stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer.
Through flashbacks, it is revealed that Vivian was not the most compassionate individual during her professional career. However, as she undergoes eight rounds of intense and draining cancer therapy, Vivian gains the sense of humanity that she previously lacked. This creates a tragic juxtaposition; as Vivian is continuously mistreated by her doctors –one of whom is a former student of hers – is when she craves humanity most.
The lead role of Vivian Bearing was played by senior mathematics and musical theater student Brooke Tortorelli. In preparation for her role, Tortorelli researched the metaphysical poetry of John Donne, her character’s academic specialization. Tortorelli shared that because her character delivers many monologues featuring Donne’s confusingly eloquent sonnets, she wanted to understand what they were truly about.
However, studying metaphysical poetry was not the most challenging part of preparing for the role of Vivian Bearing. Tortorelli explained that because her role was so emotionally complex, learning her lines required her to pace herself. “I read the script a lot,” she said, “but I had to take breaks for myself.”
Due to the emotional, heavy content of the show, Tortorelli shared that she had to find ways to decompress after rehearsals and performances. She explained that “Wit” is a play about relationships, and how her character did not value hers. Tortorelli said that this led to her favorite ways to decompress being, “Doing things that I enjoy, spending time with my friends, and being myself.”
As Tortorelli’s character Vivian Bearing undergoes her cancer treatments, she is shown little humanity by her doctors. One of the clinical fellows treating Vivian is a former student of hers, Jason Posner. Dr. Posner was played by senior criminal justice student Kiefer Walsh.
“Wit” was incredibly personal to Walsh because of his father’s battle with cancer in the past. Walsh’s character, Dr. Jason Posner, demonstrates a lack of humanity towards Vivian throughout her cancer treatment, which hit home for Walsh.
Walsh said, “This character is a constant reminder that you can’t value results over people’s lives.” He explained, “I tried to put a bit of myself into the character. I see a little bit of myself in Jason because he has a drive to succeed, a drive to be the best at what he’s doing… but mine doesn’t reach the same level of hubris as his.”
Although “Wit” is an emotional and challenging play, the cast was proud to put on their production and enjoyed the process of the show being put together. Tortorelli said that her favorite part of the process was learning about the advanced literature of John Donne, something she would not have learned about otherwise as a mathematics and musical theater student.
Walsh shared that his favorite part of the show process was the week leading up to the show, tech week. He elaborated, “I loved seeing the show hit that final step and come together.” He also expressed, “With this show I tried to have as much fun as I could because of how heavy it is.”
“Wit” was directed by Senior Specialist Professor Sheri Anderson, MFA. Anderson commented, “I have loved this show for over twenty years, and I have been waiting until I had the students to do it. I was very privileged this year to have an incredibly talented group.”
Throughout the production of “Wit,” Anderson was impacted and inspired by the performances of her cast. She remarked, “It has shown me how much talent we have in this department. Most of my actors traditionally are musical theater actors, so it was inspiring to see them tackle roles that require this much emotional heavy lifting.”
This play was also very impactful for the actors involved. Tortorelli expressed, “By playing such a strong person, I have found a lot of strength within myself that I didn’t know I had before.”
In addition to the five performances of “Wit,” the cast also hosted a talk-back after their show on Friday, Mar. 1 with Dorothy Lobo, Ph.D., Chair of the Biology Department and Professor of Biology, and her Cancer Biology class. Furthermore, Tortorelli organized a bake sale fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, which raised over $1000.
