"They tell you you're dying and you say, "alright", but if I am dying it must mean I'm still alive." So says one of the characters in The Shadow Box, Michael Cristofer's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning drama about life and death directed by Dale Hayes of d² productions, in association with MainLine Theatre.
Nine actors explore the grim realities of impending death for the dying and their loved ones, inhabiting their characters with passion, grace, and flashes of humor at the MainLine stage.
The action takes place at a pastoral hospice where three families struggle with saying their final goodbyes when there is still so much left unsaid and undone in their lives. A pleasant healthcare advocate tries to assist them on their journeys through grief and loss, often bearing the brunt of their anger.
In its philosophical moments the play grapples with the existential theme of the meaning of life and death, but in the end makes clear that there is really no satisfactory answer to the question, "Why me?"
Two actors merit special mention for their performances. Alexandra Valassis (Beverly) provides much needed comic relief as a drunken party girl in a love triangle, while Susan Corbett (Maggie) pours out her heart and soul as the misunderstanding wife of a dying man.
The Shadow Box is a dark drama by any measure: profound, disturbing, and strangely engaging, like life itself.
The Shadow Box
MainLine Theatre
April19-30, 2017