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Vigil - 2nd Edition by Morris Panych (Paperback)

Vigil - 2nd Edition by  Morris Panych (Paperback)
Store: Target
Last Price: 16.95 USD

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<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br>Since Morris Panych's classic black comedy <i>Vigil</i> premiered in 1996, it has been produced throughout North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe, including a 2009 Off-Broadway production, which opened to rave reviews, a run as <i>Auntie & Me</i> in London and, in 2011, shows at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where Panych directed Academy Award-winner Olympia Dukakis opposite Marco Barricelli in the lead role. <p/>This updated edition incorporates changes to scenes and dialogue that have been part of the play's evolution over the past fifteen years, as well as a new playwright's note. <p/><i>Vigil</i> is about a man returning - after thirty years - to sit with a female relative on her deathbed. Kemp, the protagonist, is an extremely self-centered and shallow person who uses acid wit and seemingly callous indifference to cover up the profound discomfort he experiences upon finding himself part of a deathwatch. Kemp's problem is: she's not dying fast enough. Through Kemp's own errors and inattentiveness, the visit that he thinks will take a day or two stretches into a year, and he finds himself caring for his long-forgotten aunt Grace against his will. Gallows humor and Kemp's diatribes on humanity and mortality fuel this delightfully dark narrative, but it is Grace's economical contributions to the dialogue (she's a woman of few words) that give this play its weight and profundity. A play of mistaken identity, twisted circumstance and surprising turns, it is deliciously absurd, incredibly funny and poignantly tender. This is one <i>Vigil</i> worth keeping. <p/>Cast of 1 woman and 1 man.<br><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br><br>"Wickedly dark ... hilarious, quirky and heartfelt." --<em>Variety</em> <p/>"A small masterpiece." --<em>Globe and Mail</em> <p/>"A devilishly funny play [that] laughs in death's face." --<em>Maclean's</em> <p/>"This is one of those rare, liberating plays that actually breaks a taboo. [Panych] gives voice to the silent thoughts that hover around many death-beds." --<em>National Post</em> <p/>"Literate, incisive, edgy and lots of good, naughty fun." --<em>Syracuse New Times</em> <p/>"It causes us to think about, and perhaps appreciate in a new light, all the small things in life that ultimately define the relationships that matter most." --<em>San Francisco Chronicle</em><br>

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