The IUS Theatre Department put on an emotional and vivid play about three cancer patients who learn to cope with their conditions and the fact that they are eventually going to die.
“The Shadow Box” is a Pulitzer Prize winning play, by Michael Christofer, and was directed by Jim Hesselman.
Opening night was Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. in the Robinson Theatre. The play was being presented Oct. 24-26 and Oct. 31-Nov. 2. Friday and Saturday showings were at 8 p.m. and Sunday showings were at 2:30 p.m.
Admission was $12 for adults and $6 for IU Southeast students, faculty and staff.
The play started out very solemnly with some depressing music. The setting of the play takes place in three cottages on the grounds of a large hospital.
In cottage one, lives a patient by the name of Joe. Joe was played by John Campbell Finnegan. Joe is from New York and he is a typical middle class hard working American.
He is visited by wife Maggie, played by Lindsay Vincent, and his son Steve, played by Kyle Phelps. Maggie refuses to accept the fact that Joe is dying and she has not yet told Steve that his father is dying.
In cottage two, lives a patient by the name of Brian, played by Tyler Bliss. He spends his days at the hospital writing poems, short stories and 3 autobiographies to pass the time. Mark, played by Stephen Minotti, is his caretaker and boyfriend, feels like he owes it to Brian to help take care of him because Brian helped him get off the streets.
Brian is visited by Beverly, played by Julie Streble, his ex wife who carelessly likes to drink a lot. Brian indulges in a few drinks with Beverly while Mark sits on the sidelines.
In cottage three, lives an old lady in a wheelchair by the name of Felicity, played by Abby Braune. Her daughter Agnes, played by Carol True attends to her. Felicity has been through many grueling operations and has managed to still remain alive.
Felicity’s only remaining hopes lie on the letters that her other daughter Claire writes her. But she doesn’t know that Claire has died and it is Agnes who writes the letters just to make her mother have something to look forward to.
The actors put on an excellent performance, full of misery, anger, depression, laughter and love.
The actors periodically talked with the interviewers played by Ashley McMurtry and Brandon Layton. They revealed how they felt about certain issues and their loved ones to the interviewers.
There were many moments in the play where the actor’s skills were tested. Some cried, many lashed out in anger and others got smacked in the face.
Lindsey Heibert, history sophomore, was pleased with their performance.
“I think that the actors did an amazing job at a college level of playing serious roles like homosexuals and dying cancer patients,” Heibert said.
Heibert said that their roles were tough and the actors handled portraying them well. She also said that she did not expect a big audience turn out but she was surprised because there were a lot of people there.
“I was extremely impressed by the audience and how many people showed up to watch the play, even though it was the last showing on a Sunday,” she said.
Jaime Young, exercise science junior from the University of Louisville, said that the play exceeded her expectations.
“I go to U of L and I have been to many of their productions but I have never been to an IUS production,” Young said.
“But this play was just as good if not better than the U of L productions I have seen.”
By NATALIE DEDAS
Staff Writer
natdedas@ius.edu
