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Tuesdays With Morrie
By Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom
Directed by Michael Montel
At the Cadillac Palace Theatre
151 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL
Call 312-902-1400, tickets $32 - $65
Tuesdays at 7:30 PM
Wednesdays at 2 & 7:30 PM
Thursdays at 7:30 PM
Fridays at 8 PM
Saturdays at 2 & 8 PM
Sundays at 2 & 7:30 PM
Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission
Through March 12, 2006
“Are you at peace with yourself?”
“Are you trying to be a human as possible?”
--Morrie Schwartz to Mitch Albon
The lesson about living rings with truth in Tuesdays With Morrie
Tuesdays With Morrie is a play about a mentor who is slowly dying, but it is really a play about living. It is a story about loving, forgiving and connecting with others. It is a lesson about being human. Told marvelously by director Michael Montel and acted effectively by Broadway veteran Harold Gould as Morrie, the show is a tutorial on the human spirit. Director Montel never lets the play become a sappy sentimental dying man show. Tuesdays With Morrie is told straight forward as a docudrama with emphasis on depicting Morrie as a mentor, a pure teacher. Told through the eyes of Mitch Albom, one of Morrie’s favorite pupils, Dominic Fumusa effectively plays Mitch as the success driven stiff sports reporter devoid of emotions, l iving for glory and money.
The power in this show is Harold Gould’s honest portrayal of Morrie Schwartz. I remember seeing Morrie on both Nightline and Oprah. He had a feisty, acerbic wit with a strong sense of focus on the basic nature of life. Gould accurately brings the fun loving professor to life. The sadness of the dying scenes was in witnessing the physical deterioration of Morrie. Gould’s stumbling, stiffness, gagging and slurred speech gave attention to the horrors of ALS. We feel for Morrie as he disintegrates throughout the show. Harold Gould is a marvel to see work as he bravely and convincingly wins our hearts.
The uplifting messages of the show comes from Morrie reminding us that we must live in the moment, make connections with others, invest in people and not be afraid to touch those we care about. And that it is okay to cry, okay to laugh and okay to care for those we love. Acceptance, forgiveness and love are the fuel of the human spirit. Tuesdays With Morrie is a dignified, warm love story wonderfully performed. Morrie is looking down at Harold Gould and doing his little arm-waving dance and smiling. We see Dominic Fumusa as Mitch Albom slowly connect with Morrie and subtly he is transformed into a passionate human. Morrie teaches that it is nev er too late to love.
Morrie taught me: “Learn how to live, and you’ll know how to die; learn how to die, and you’ll know how to live.” After having my own flirtation with death from a heart attack six years ago, I can relate to Morrie’s message. Maybe that’s why I’m so passionate about theatre?
Don’t miss this tasteful tutorial on being human. Everyone needs to hear these messages from time to time. You’ll buy the book after seeing Broadway in Chicago’s production of Tuesdays With Morrie.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago Podcast
February 28, 2006
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