Cynthia Welling
Director
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Jenni Guggenheimer
Stage Manager |
From the Director:
“The Shadow Box” is not so much a show about cancer and its victims as much as it is a show about the end of life. As an audience member, I know you are in for a treat. These folks went above and beyond the pale for this show already by doing inspired auditions and the creative process promises to be exceptional. There are two things Wisconsin Rapids can be very proud of —the level of talent this little community produces and the unbelievable and unwavering enthusiasm of the audience members who support them. I am proud to call this place home.
Cynthia Welling
1977 Tony award for best play; 1977 Pulitzer Prize for drama; nominated for 1977 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New American Play.
 THE STORY: The play revolves around a trio of terminally ill patients, each of whom lives in a separate cottage at a hospice. Each is being interviewed about the process of dying. For most of the play, the interviewer is unseen, which means that characters speak directly to the members of the audience, as if they were the interviewer. The first dying person is Joe, a middle-aged, blue-collar family man. Joe seems well-adjusted, and has accepted that he is dying. However, his wife Maggie is in denial, and has not told their son Steve about his father's condition. The second dying person is Brian, a bisexual English professor. He's being cared for by his lover, Mark. They receive a visit from Brian's flamboyant, slightly trashy ex-wife Beverly. Beverly's presence lifts Brian's spirits, but rankles Mark. The final dying person is Felicity, an elderly, cantankerous, somewhat senile woman, who is cared for by her long-suffering daughter Agnes. Felicity is in great pain, but refuses to die, because she remains hopeful that her favorite daughter, Claire, will return to her soon.
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