“Still Alice” tells the story of a highly intelligent, respected Northwestern professor of linguistics and cognitive psychology who begins having the symptoms of early onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 49. At first, she has small problems of forgetfulness, and attributes them to menopause but after getting lost on a morning run and then going to work at 4AM in her pajamas, Alice realizes that she is losing all of the memories that make her who she is as a person.
The play directed by Christine Mary Dunford, which was adapted from the bestselling book by a Harvard trained neuroscientist, Lisa Genova, seems light and humorous at the start but effectively brings the audience directly into the center of Alice’s own family life and experiences as she begins the long, dark journey not into madness but into something that feels much worse, the absence of self, almost an animal like existence of childlike dependence on those around her.
Dunford introduces a very effective character called “Herself” who is dressed like Alice and represents her inner monologue. At one point Alice and “herself” sit center stage like two ragdolls with their arms wrapped around each other and Alice asks if “herself” will remember her when all of her memories are gone, Herself hugs Alice and says, “I will always remember you, I LIKE you!”
I was also impressed with the way the play dealt with the idea of suicide in the face of this monstrous disease. After progressing in a relatively short time to a point where Alice can not remember her own daughter right after seeing her perform onstage Alice writes a computer note to herself named “ butterfly”. The file instructs Alice that if she can no longer answer four simple questions like where do you live, and how many children do you have, she is to go to a drawer in the living room and swallow of the pills she finds in there and go to sleep without telling anyone. But by the time she finds the “butterfly” file Alice and “herself” have digressed so badly that they cannot follow the simple instructions.
This play really shows the impact and horror of this type of “forgetting” on the family as they struggle to spend meaningful time with their still young and otherwise healthy mother who is quickly becoming lost and frustrated in a world with no meaning like a child. A poignant and striking example of this is when Alice runs back into her house to use the bathroom before jogging with her husband but ends up wetting herself because she can not remember where the bathroom is in her own house.
Eva Barr who plays Alice does a wonderful job of playing the athletic, super intelligent “everywoman” who is totally caught unaware by the devastating progression of her disease. Maryann Mayberry who plays “Herself” does so with a great sense of humor and wonder as the young healthy mind inside of us all that rails against the odd behaviors as they begin to occur with greater frequency. Christopher Donahue who plays Alice’s husband gives us a wonderful, compassionate and subtle performance as the beleaguered husband whose wife he adores is slipping into full-blown senility before his very eyes.
I highly recommend this sparing, tight and effective production for audiences young and old who will most likely be dealing with Alzheimer’s care giving or treatment for some family member at some point in their lives. “Still Alice” doesn’t just set out the tragedy of early onset Alzheimer’s, it inspires one to truly appreciate and deeply consider the essential value of our memories and most simple cognitive abilities for quality of life at every age in our lives regardless of career success or financial wellbeing.
+Still Alice” is playing at Lookingglass Theatre through May 19th. For more information, visit www.lookingglasstheatre.org.
