Be honest. When a play is described as a tour-de-force, when it chronicles a woman's struggle with (Insert Name Here) Disease, when on top of all that it's a self-penned, one-woman vehicle, you think you know what you're in for.
Well, think again. In "With or Without Wings," the radiant Mierka Girten does the tired one-woman-show format proud. Tracing Girten's quirky childhood in Ohio, her ambition-fueled move to Chicago and the MS diagnosis which led to her suicide attempt as well as its uplifting aftermath, "With or Without Wings" is not your mother's one-woman show.
By turns contemplative and showy, earnest and wry, Girten shepherds the audience through each phase of her life, pausing to highlight this roommate or that teacher--each person who played a funny or significant role in her trajectory. Under Larry Grimm's steady direction, Girten's idiosyncratic sense of humor, her vivid impressions and her lively, empathetic demeanor shine. From her gleeful rendition of Annie's "Tomorrow" (it sounds like classic one-woman show self-indulgence, but she makes it work), to the doctor's-visit-turned-game-show in which she receives her heartbreaking diagnosis, Girten is at once proud and self-deprecating, a delight to watch.
Although buoyant and absorbing, "With or Without Wings" is not without imperfections. The play drags a bit as Girten stews over her diagnosis, then hits us with the stunning news that her mother also suffers from MS, before dropping Girten's suicide attempt in our laps. Post suicide/coma segment, the show seems on a race to the finish line, as Girten hurriedly confides that she soon went into remission and has resolved to face her disease with newfound humor should it renew its assault. A heavy-handed Enya-meets-gospel-choir-musical cue underscores this profession, providing the show with its only cliched moment. So compelling was Girten's performance, however, that such a moment was easily forgotten.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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