The Shadow Box: A Two-Act Drama Play Script - Perfect for Theater Performances, Drama Classes & Stage Productions

After being asked to perform a scene from this play for a graduate-level gerontology class, I was enamored of the writing and decided to purchase the whole play for a better look.Michael Cristofer delves into the topic of death and dying with everything from kid gloves to bare fists as we follow 3 families into their own personal struggles with death, whether it is the patient's own fears or a family member's denial:Brian is dying of an unnamed illness, and is being cared for by his younger lover, Mark. He gets a visit by his brash party-loving ex-wife Beverly who uses humor to create her own comfort zone. Past, present and future collide as they all state their feelings about what this means to them. Beverly's no-holds-barred character adds a dry element of humor to the play, making some parts almost a black comedy.Maggie is coming to visit her husband Joe in the hospice, and is so far into denial about it that she has not told their teenage son the truth, and refuses to even enter the hospice. Seeing it or speaking about it makes it real, and she's not ready for that.Felicity is aged and has had so many surgeries there's not much of her left. She's being cared for by a middle-aged daughter, Agnes, who is keeping herself just this side of burning out. Felicity receives daily letters from her favorite daughter, Claire, who is apparently on her way to visit the woman who has surpassed all her doctors' expectations on her life expectancy. Through the voice of a phantom "interviewer" who speaks to the characters one by one, we find from the caregiving daughter that Claire actually died in an accident a while ago, and she never told her mother. Agnes has been writing the letters to keep her mother happy until she finally passes. However, we learn that people can negotiate their deaths by waiting for an estranged love one, meaning Agnes has inadvertently prolonged Felicity's process.This play won numerous awards on the stage, and its TV movie adaptation won an Emmy. While this play is about death, the careful exploration gives us a look into our own fears, and the hope that acceptance can be reached while we still are here to live the time we have left. It is a masterpiece of the human experience.