‘Wit’ will open at the Playhouse on Park in West Hartford on April 22, with preview nights April 20 and 21.

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Wit, Margaret Edson’s powerfully imagined Pulitzer Prize-winning play examines what makes life worth living through her exploration of one of existence’s unifying experiences – mortality – while she also probes the vital importance of human relationships. Opening night at Playhouse on Park is April 22 at 8 p.m., with a wine and cheese reception to precede the show.

Edson has created a work that is as intellectually challenging as it is emotionally immediate. Exquisitely written, affecting and often humorous, Wit follows a brilliant and exacting poetry professor as she undergoes an experimental treatment for cancer. A scholar who devoted her life to academia, she must now face the irony and injustice of becoming the subject of research.

Elizabeth Lande. Submitted photo

Playhouse on Park is thrilled to welcome back Stevie Zimmerman to direct Wit; her previous shows at the Playhouse include the critically-acclaimed Driving Miss Daisy and Collected Stories.

Featured in this production are Elizabeth Lande (Theatre 40: Jenny REMEMBRANCE, Helena KIN (Los Angeles Premiere),The Yale Repertory Theatre; The Trinity Rep; New Dramatists, The Williamstown Theater Festival, The New Jersey Shakespeare Festival) as Vivian, Waltrudis Buck (Playhouse on Park: DRIVING MISS DAISY,  Vermont Stage: 4000 MILES; Long Wharf: UNCLE VANYA; TV/FILM: EVERYONE SAYS  I LOVE YOU, DECONSTRUCTING HARRY, MILDRED PIERCE) as E.M. Ashford, David Gautschy (Playhouse on Park: THE CHOSEN. Off Broadway: Signature Theater Company. Regional: Shakespeare on the Sound Denver Center Theater Company) as Dr. Kelekian/Mr. Bearing, Tim Hackney (Playhouse on Park: Joe Pitt ANGELS IN AMERICA: MILLENNIUM APPROACHES; National Tours: Mrs. Bumbrake/ Teacher PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, Robert u/s THE DROWSY CHAPERONE) as Jason, Chuja Seo (Getty Villa: PROMETHEUS BOUND,  Edinburgh Festival: THE INTRUDER, Dixon Place,  Minetta Lane Theater) as Susie, Harrison Greene (Playhouse on Park: Lane/Merriman THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, Whit OF MICE AND MEN, Phaeton METAMORPHOSES) as Intern/Student, Sara Detrik (Downtown Cabaret Theatre: Tzietel FIDDLER ON THE ROOF; Quinnipiac University: Kayleen GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES; Pace TRESTLE AT POPE LICK CREEK) as Student/Intern, Julia Ekwall (University of Scranton: Sarah ELECTRIC ROSES, Becky BECKY SHAW) as Intern/Student.

Waltrudis Buck. Submitted photo

Wit runs until May 8. Previews are on April 20 and 21, with tickets at only $15 each, all seats reserved. Sunday matinees feature a talk back session after the performance. Tickets are on sale now and range from $22.50-$35.00, all seats reserved. Student, senior and Let’s Go Arts discounts are available. Wit is recommended for ages 14 and up due to brief non-sexual nudity.

Call the box office today at 860-523-5900 x10, or visit www.playhouseonpark.org. Playhouse on Park is located at 244 Park Rd., West Hartford, CT 06119.