The Shadow Box is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1977 play by Michael Cristofer.
It centers on three terminally-ill hospital patients, all of whom have been moved to a hospice (or, rather, three cottages that function as a hospice) to live out their final days.
They are:
- Joe. His wife Maggie is deep in denial and refuses to even admit that her husband is dying; their son Steve hasn't been told.
- Brian. His lover Mark has been living in the cottage and tending to him. Either Brian is bi or he used to be in a different kind of denial, because his flamboyant ex-wife Beverly has shown up to lend support.
- Felicity. She is in the worst state, with moments of lucidity that are outnumbered by longer moments of severe dementia. She is being taken care of by her weary daughter Agnes, who sometimes reads her letters from Felicity's other daughter, Claire.
The patients and their loved ones share their thoughts and feelings with an unnamed, unseen interviewer at the hospice, as they each struggle to find a way to deal with impending loss.
The original Broadway cast included Josef Sommer as the Interviewer, Simon Oakland as Joe, Vincent Spano as Steve, and Mandy Patinkin as Mark. In 1980 the play was was adapted into a Made-for-TV Movie directed by Paul Newman, starring John Considine as the Interviewer, James Broderick as Joe, Valerie Harper as Maggie, Christopher Plummer as Brian, Ben Masters as Mark, Joanne Woodward as Beverly, Sylvia Sidney as Felicity, and Melinda Dillon as Agnes.
Tropes:
- As You Know: In the opening scene the Voice of Interviewer makes sure to refer to Steve as "your son" when talking to Joe so the audience will know the relationships.
- Bisexual Love Triangle: Mark resents Beverly's presence. Beverly for her part clearly still carries a torch for Mark, although in the end she steps aside.
- The Disease That Shall Not Be Named: The three patients are all clearly dying of cancer—Felicity moans with pain and begs Agnes for medicine—but the C word is never used.
- Dying Alone: Brian says that basically, in the end, everyone does.Brian: You're absolutely alone facing an absolute unknown.
- Face Death with Dignity: The central theme, as the three patients and their families have to deal with cancer and death.
- Let Them Die Happy: Agnes reads letters from her absent sister Claire, assuring Felicity that she is on her way and will be arriving soon. Later in the play, Agnes reveals that Claire died years ago but the mother has rejected the knowledge in her senility. Unfortunately, Felicity is clinging to life through sheer stubborn desire to see the absent daughter again, making it harder and harder for Agnes to keep up the charade.
- Mathematician's Answer: Maggie, nervous just to be there, starts gabbling about how she brought a ham. Apparently the family lives on the opposite coast as Joe says "You mean you carried a ham three thousand miles across the country?". Maggie's response is "No. I put it under the seat."
- Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: When Felicity is lucid, her age and her deteriorating health have put her well past giving a damn, like in the scene where the offscreen interviewer calls her "the patient".Felicity: Patient?! Patient, hell! I'm the corpse! I have one lung, one plastic bag for a stomach, and two springs and a battery where my heart used to be. You cut me up and took everything that wasn't nailed down. Sons of bitches.
- Speech-Centric Work: Two acts of people talking about their lives and their impending deaths.
- Suddenly Shouting: Felicity is loudly singing a dirty song ("Roll Me Over, in the Clover") while Agnes keeps asking her to stop. Finally Agnes snaps and says "Mama!!!! STOP IT!!".
- The Voice: An off-stage character identified in the script as "Voice of Interviewer" conducts interviews with the various characters. In-Universe the idea is that the hospital is developing a new hospice program, but this device allows for the characters to explore their feelings to a semi-omniscient presence.
- We Are as Mayflies: The play ends with all the characters semi-Breaking the Fourth Wall as they talk about how life is short and it's important to appreciate each moment.Brian: It doesn't last forever.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Joe and Brian at least are acutely aware of this. Joe struggles to get his wife to admit it.
