Afterlife confronted in witty ‘Miss Witherspoon’ comedy

Christopher Durang’s new play “Miss Witherspoon” had audience members laughing out loud within the first two minutes of Saturday night’s performance at the John Waldron Arts Center.\nThe play begins with Miss Witherspoon, the comical main character played by Diane Kondrat, discussing her own death. She explains to the audience that life was too painful and people too disappointing for her to be happy, so she committed suicide, thinking that this was a way she could escape her pain. The catch to it all is that in purgatory, where she ended up, reincarnation is imminent, and she finds herself constantly fighting it. At first, her hatred for life is strong enough to prevent her from being reincarnated, which confuses Maryamma, played by Martha Jacobs, Witherspoon’s cheerful and humorous spirit guide. Maryamma continues to insist that Miss Witherspoon submit to reincarnation to learn valuable lessons about life and to reach enlightenment. \nEventually, Miss Witherspoon is reincarnated as a two-week old baby, but she’s well aware of her former self. As a result, she’s still disinterested in living, so she suffers a fate similar to the one in her previous life. When she returns to purgatory, Maryamma scolds her for wasting a life and for causing her parents and others to suffer. She is reincarnated yet again, this time as a girl named Virginia, whose parents are emotionally abusive drug-users. At the age of 13, “Virginia” overdoses on pills and once again, Miss Witherspoon is transported back to purgatory. \nThroughout all of this, Miss Witherspoon expresses her desire to end up in the “Jewish Heaven,” which Maryamma describe as being in a state of “prolonged general anesthesia.” Such a place sounds perfect to Miss Witherspoon, who longs to simply rest and feel nothing. After a third reincarnation, in which she is turned into a dog, she finally begins to see that life can be somewhat enjoyable. For the first time, she finds herself happy. At the end of the play, Miss Witherspoon is able to reflect on her past lives and is finally able to see that her actions have a direct impact on other people. She is reincarnated for a final time and decides to live out her life with purpose, optimism and understanding.\nKondrat acted out her stubborn and hopeless character humorously. Even when she was discussing more serious issues in the play, like climate change, terrorism or political conflicts, she still made the audience laugh with her sarcastic delivery. \nThough the play was, at times, dark, it was also witty enough to be considered a comedy, and it ended on a hopeful note. The audience was so enthused that it gave the play a standing ovation.\n“I wish I was as hopeful as this show is,” Kondrat said about the ending. “I feel really powerless most of the time.” \n“Miss Witherspoon” will run at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St. Tickets are available at the door for $15.