Play Depicts Personal Encounters with the Frailty of the Human Body
Wilmington College Theatre will present the alternately humorous and heart-wrenching play, Let Me Down Easy, Feb. 26, 27 and 28, at 7:30 p.m., in Hugh G. Heiland Theatre.
Anna Deavere Smith’s work was originally born out of 300 interviews from across the United States and Europe commissioned by Yale University’s School of Medicine to create a play for doctors about the human body.
She weaves together multiple real-life characters with text drawn verbatim from her interviews. The 20 characters range from regularly banged up rodeo star Brent Williams to cycling champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong to outspoken former Texas governor Ann Richards, the latter of whom eventually succumbed to that cancer in 2006.
The stories are alternately humorous and heart wrenching, and often a blend of both. Building upon each other with hypnotic force, Smith’s subjects recount personal encounters with the frailty of the human body, ranging from a mere brush with mortality, coping with an uncertain future in today’s medical establishment and confronting an end-of-life transition.
The testimony of healthcare professionals adds further texture to a vivid portrayal of the cultural and societal attitudes to matters of health.
Wynn Alexander is directing Let Me Down Easy with Lois Hock providing set and lighting design. The cast features: Tevin Amburgy, Andy Haag, Nick Hutson, Emily Knisley, Karen Oehler, Aundrea Roberts-Davis, Tim Wiederhold and Vicki Wilson.
Tickets and reservations are available by contacting the Theatre Box Office weekdays, from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m., at (937) 481-2267.
