Never send to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.
- John Donne

Though we are mortals, one day destined to become the fruit of worms, dust returning to dust, we, in our infinite desire to dream, like to forget such limitations and fancy ourselves as invincible children in a world we can control, conquer and create.

“Our DNA has noble plans!” we declare.

And so we read, we build, we grow and fathom depths. We collect whole worlds in our minds, thinking that our deeds will keep us immortal. But all the while, Death awaits. It comes to claim us as its prize.
“What right do you have to take us from this world and the ones we love?” We cry out in vain. Death needs no answer. It knows that life is just as much a reality and dream as death. The two are inseparable.

I could wax all day and night, but the truth remains. Each day of our lives, Death is a little closer. It’s not my intention to sound morbid or hopeless. I’m only writing about what we all know to be true.
If truth is what you’re looking for - or perhaps a better perspective of how to accept death without cheating life - there’s a play you need to see at the Performing Arts Center in Waynesville for the upcoming Labor Day weekend.

Haywood Arts Repertory Theatre’s studio presents the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Wit,” written by Margaret Edson. Barbara Bates Smith stars as the English professor who is forced to re-examine her life while battling cancer. She’s a John Donne scholar, and so she uses the poetry of Donne’s masterful Holy Sonnets to explore life and death in more depth than ever before.

Smith more than jumped at the role when she heard HART Director Steve Lloyd was interested in doing the show. Smith had seen “Wit” in New York City and kept a running file on it for a good year. She shaved her head to assume the role.

“For me, it’s the role of a lifetime,” she said. “It’s the one subject that everyone in this world is confronted with.”

Smith’s own mother died in the summer of 1999, and so taking on “Wit” has become a way of learning to deal with her own mortality.

It’s a powerful story to say the least - the bitter truth of cancer, poetic ponderings of life and an experimental treatment administered by a young doctor.

Suzanne Tinsley, who has directed some of HART’s most successful and critically acclaimed shows, directs Smith and an all-star cast, which includes Richie Gorman, Lynnette Wright, Steve Lloyd, Patrick Tinsley, Christina Gooch, Charmione Jones and Hanni Muerdter (nearly all of whom have won a HART season award for best actress or best actor).

The show sold out nearly a week in advance when it ran earlier this month, so it’s back for another run of shows - Friday, Aug. 31, and Saturday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 2, at 3 p.m. Tickets are $6 for all seats. Studio seating is limited, so HART recommends making reservations early and arriving early before the show to get the best seat. For more information, call the HART box office at 828.456.6322.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News