Until her very last moments, she stoically endures pain and humiliation without flinching, physically or emotionally. She also suffers it alone. Where another person might have a friend hold her hand for comfort, Vivian's poems are her only friends. This portrait creates a segue to Edson's final theme, a comment on the nature of modern research medicine. What Edson reveals, of course, is that Bearing and Posner are kindred spirits in their intellectual isolation.
Wit is a stunning piece of theater.
Its only weak moments occur when Edson emphasizes a bit too heavily the unfortunate indignities, insensitivities and simple incompetencies of Dr. Bearing's hospital experience. Edson's play soars like Dr. Bearing's spirit. Copyright September 1998, Elyse Sommer, CurtainUp .