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(Photo Courtesy of Florida Repertory Theatre/Photo by Nick Adams)
GableStage is presenting The Year of Magical Thinking, an account of the year following the death of writer Joan Didion’s husband John Gregory Dunne in 2003.
The book immediately was acclaimed as a classic memoir about mourning. It won the 2005 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography.
Didion’s adaptation of her book for Broadway opened on Mar. 29, 2007, with Vanessa Redgrave as the sole cast member. It has since toured the world with Redgrave reprising her role in London and again in New York City. Now this extraordinary production will be shared with local audiences at the GableStage in the intimate setting it deserves.
Described as “exquisitely controlled and heartbreakingly sad” by The New York Times, Didion recounts in searing detail her experiences of grief upon her husband’s unexpected death and expands upon the memoir by sharing her ordeal with their daughter Quintana’s concurrent illnesses and subsequent untimely death.
Didion deftly makes sense of both the emotional and physical aspects of both her husband and daughter’s experiences, incorporating medical and psychological research on grief and illness. The title of the play refers to magical thinking in the anthropological sense — thinking that if a person hopes for something enough or performs the right actions then an unavoidable event can be averted. Throughout the play, Didion explores her own magical thinking as she makes sense of the “weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea [she] ever had about death, about illness…about marriage and children and memory…about the shallowness of sanity, about life itself.”
It is a remarkable moment in theater that tells us how people try to make sense of the senseless and how they somehow go on.
Didion’s character is played by classically trained regional theater veteran and voice of audiobooks Sara Morsey, who has said that she strives to inhabit her characters so that the author’s intent is crystal clear.
“To be a conduit for the words and ideas of Joan Didion is no less than spine-tingling for me. Don’t assume anything about this play, just come see it,” she said.
The play is directed by Bari Newport in her first year as GableStage’s luminous producing artistic director.
“I have been looking forward to directing this outstanding one-woman theatrical experience. Joan Didion was an extraordinary writer who captured the essence of her revelations about life and death and shares them with exquisite sensitivity,” Newport said.
Newport is joined by a creative team that includes production stage manager Katie Ellison, scenic designer Frank J. Oliva, sound designer Matt Corey, lighting designer Tony Galaska, and costume designer Camilla Haith.
The Year of Magical Thinking is made possible through support from GableStage Trustee Nedra Kalish, in memory of her beloved husband Ron; Trustee Rick Toren and his wife Myrna, in memory of their beloved son David; with additional support from Debbie and Michael Troner, MD and Sheila Wagner, in memory of her beloved husband Richard.
The GableStage Theatre is located on the east side of the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables at 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables, FL
The Year of Magical Thinking runs through June 26. Showtimes are Wednesdays, 2 and 7 p.m.; Thursday, 7 p.m.; Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, 2 p.m.
Tickets start at $35, with discounts available for artists, veterans and Biltmore Hotel members. Students with ID cards and Biltmore employees may see any production free-of-charge by stopping by the box office an hour before the performance of choice begins.
Groups of 10 or more receive $8 off each ticket and receive one additional ticket free-of-charge. Subscribers receive the best seats at the best prices. Subscriptions are still available. Visit online at gablestage.org/tickets, by phone at 305-445-1119 or email at boxoffice@gablestage.org.
Ticket holders can enjoy the show in person or via stream from a location of their choosing.
Streaming of The Year of Magical Thinking will be available June 26. Those interested in streaming should purchase a ticket to a specific performance to receive a streaming link for that date/time. The streaming will begin at the same time as the show. It will not be on demand.
