Theater Review—

On Death, Dying, And Being Unsure Of Either

By Julie Stern

NEW HAVEN — If the first step in being admitted to the hospital is being able to produce the requisite proof of health insurance, the next most important procedure is getting your television hooked up. And the fact that most daytime soaps are set in hospitals (handsome doctors are more appealing objects of romantic fantasy than accountants or engineers) it is a short step to using the soap opera vision of life as an ironic commentary on the actual hospital experience.

Some variation on this theme has been used in a number of plays and movies, ranging from the wacky Renee Zellweger movie Nurse Betty to the superb Peter Nichols work The National Health. In the former, a traumatized housewife confuses her favorite show with reality and takes on the identity of her favorite character; in the latter, the demoralized staff of an overcrowded public hospital watch themselves lead happier lives on TV, while their neglected patients languish in despair.

Now, in Fran’s Bed, while the central character – portrayed by Mia Farrow – lies comatose, her caregiver’s addiction to television serials provides a simplistic vision of life, in contrast to the messy ambiguity of the real story of Fran, her relationships, and the significant events of her history. Written and directed by James Lapine, the play is receiving its world premiere at Long Wharf Theatre. Performances continue until November 24.

A wax replica of Ms Farrow lies in her hospital bed, hooked up to assorted machines, allowing the real actress free reign to re-live various critical moments in her past as she interacts with her husband, their two daughters, and her lover.

In the soaps, driven by plots that leave the audience hanging every Friday, the characters know what they want, and whom they love, but catastrophic twists of fate create untenable situations: on her wedding day the heroine discovers that the man she is about to marry is actually her long lost father, or an evil twin returns from the dead to thwart everyone’s happiness.

Fran, on the other hand, who is much less clear about who she is or what she wants, has always been the kind of girl my sons call “high maintenance” (the modern euphemism for neurotic). Witty, charming, intelligent and sensitive, she easily wins the heart of her stodgy conventional husband, but it seems the marriage leaves him nervous and her bored.

Being president of the PTA and micromanaging the lives of her two daughters doesn’t fill Fran’s void, nor does a casual affair with a long-time friend. A tennis injury causes chronic back pain that leads to addiction to painkillers and a spiral of deranged behavior that leads eventually to the bed in the ICU.

The acting is very good, fleshing out the realities of confused people holding a deathbed vigil, not knowing what to say or do or hope for. Circling around the strong central presence of Ms Farrow, Kellie Overby is Birdie, the “successful” daughter whose career in Hollywood lets her mingle with big names and provides enough money to pay the bills. Carrie Preston is the other daughter, Vickie, divorced and uptight, available to run to Florida whenever her parents need her, unsure of whether she wants to keep her mother alive or help her die.

Harris Yulin is Howie, the unhappy husband, who would probably like to get on with his life. Marcia DeBonis does a wonderful turn as what Howie calls “the Hospice Saleslady,” bringing insensitivity to new heights as she peeks at her watch while going through the motions of “compassionate care.”

Only Dolly (portrayed by Brenda Pressley), the Jamaican caregiver, is supremely sure of both herself and what is right. With a philosophy of life derived from television and heavily laced with Bible readings, she is the one person who seems comfortable with the dying process. With gentle patience and absolute indifference to instructions, she tyrannically imposes her vision of what is appropriate, on the hapless family and the helpless patient. And who’s to say she is wrong?

(Performances of Fran’s Bed are on Long Wharf’s Stage II. Call 203-787-4282 or visit www.LongWharf.org for details.)