W;t

Margaret Edson’s 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning W;T (also known as Wit) is a luminous play. When it’s done right, the stunning story has the power to change lives. On the surface it doesn’t sound appealing, but the tale about a prickly middle-aged English professor who becomes very ill with ovarian cancer will haunt anyone with a heart. And here’s the real kicker — it’s very, very funny. Vivian Bearing (Pamela Vogel), the cranky lady at the center of the story, has the sort of dry wit that can wither a student who walks in late to a lecture. But her amazing mind also renders the dense language of poets like John Donne into magic and light. Edson’s script follows Bearing’s painful cancer treatment and shows us all how to make meaning out of the most difficult moments. Learn how to live like you’re dying at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, and 7 p.m. Thursdays. Through April 13. Texas Repertory Theatre, 14243 Stuebner Airline. For information, call 281-583-7573 or visit www.texreptheatre.org. $30.
Thursdays, 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Starts: March 27. Continues through April 13, 2008