THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING
Stage show takes hard look at grief
Grief is a universal emotion.
The passing of a parent, child, sibling or special friend can open the floodgates of emotional, physical and psychological distress.
As inevitable as such tragedy is, few people actually want to talk about it. That is why novelist, journalist and screenwriter Joan Didion wrote The Year of Magical Thinking in 2005 — to try to make sense of the death of her husband, novelist and screenwriter John Gregory Dunne, and also to chronicle her initial inability to cope.
Two years later, Didion turned The Year of Magical Thinking into a one-woman stage show that featured Vanessa Redgrave portraying Didion.
Now, Sage Theatre is presenting The Year of Magical Thinking in the Arts Commons’ Motel Theatre as the opening play of its 2018-19 season. Directed by Jason Mehmel and starring Karen Johnson-Diamond, it runs Sept. 27 to Oct. 6 with performances at 7:30 p.m., with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.
“Joan had barely dealt with the death of her husband when their daughter fell seriously ill. She wrote a second book called Blue Night but includes some of those emotions in the play as well,” says Johnson-Diamond, who adds that Didion felt she had to write these books because no one told her what it would be like to shoulder these tragedies.
“What she is essentially saying in her books, and in the play, is that if it happens to you and you begin to feel and think the way she did, you’re not crazy. At the end of her period of grief, she concludes she was crazy for a while but isn’t any more.”
Johnson-Diamond says we’ve all seen someone lose a partner or a child but until you’ve gone through it yourself, you can’t really know what it is like.
“My stepmom passed away two months ago and, as I am preparing for this show, I’m watching my dad going through his period of grief.”
Johnson-Diamond says it is important for prospective audiences to realize The Year of Magical Thinking “is not just a book on stage. Joan is speaking to the audience through whomever is playing the part. It’s far more than simply reporting on what happened.”
Johnson-Diamond admits it’s difficult working on such intense emotions.
“I go home at night, hug my husband and phone my son, mother and father but then I have to go into a quiet space and keep working on the character, the story and the emotions.”
The play runs 83 minutes without an intermission.
Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for seniors and students, with $5 discounts at matinee performances. They can be reserved in advance at sagetheatre.com