“You’re Cordially Invited to the End of the World”

We’ve all seen the warnings in playbills about flashing lights possibly triggering your seizures, smoke on stage drifting into your lungs, and even obscene/racist/otherwise ugly language offending your sensibilities. Aside from a light amount of current vernacular swearing You’re Invited doesn’t have any content that spawns standard warnings.

However, let me warn you that this play may effect you strongly and get you emotionally overwrought.

If you, a loved one, or a friend have ever had cancer or a terminal diagnosis, this play will trigger your memories, emotions, and tears.

The base story follows a man who receives a terminal diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer. We start with the doctor’s words to him and follow him and his family until the diagnosis is realized.

The writing is spot-on, inventive, and can trigger memories of the nonlinear reactions people have during terminal illnesses. Worse, the performances are spectacular: honest, varied, and real.

About 36 years ago my mother was given a diagnosis of terminal stage 4 pancreatic cancer which she, her friends, my cousin, and I fought for about 10 months. But I honestly don’t feel especially targeted by the emotions of this play.

Everyone in the audience was emotionally captured by what we were watching.

First and foremost, the writing by Keiko Green is brilliant. She clearly outlines what is going on: cancer. But she also weaves in the confusion, obsessions, side paths, and small interpersonal moments that everyone around deals with when you are — or someone you’re close to is — facing death.

Greg, the person with the diagnosis, gets a lecture (through an excellent monologue from Will (Rafael Goldstein)!) on how the earth is being polluted to death. He starts projects to protect the earth against its dying from global warming.

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environmental activist, eggs him on, coming out of his refrigerator at night to urge him to continue. We hear a lot of real information about global warming as Greg decides to destroy his neighbor’s evil lawn mowers while he plants wild grasses in his yard.

We know he’s trying to save the world/himself with these desperate acts. We cannot stop learning more about real world environmental problems. But we also grapple with the off-the-wall actions of a dying man.

More parts of the family and community get involved. Greg’s wife Viv (Amy Kim Waschke) leads the family reactions by fighting with the doctor, devising celebrations and activities, and going to a pre-death grief group. In that group she meets Janet (Kate Wisniewski) whose wife is terminal and gives us yet more takes on how we all handle the end of our worlds.

M, Viv’s and Greg’s 20-something-year-old child still lives at home, but the crisis makes them more forcefully nonbinary. M also introduces a boyfriend they’ve had for two years but had never mentioned before.  The boyfriend is an environmental nonprofit’s social media man who was the person who delivered the global warming lecture that set Greg off on his quest.

And, I do not mean to slight the skilled contribution to the story from Kate Wisniewski as Janet, the doctor, and others; Kat Peña as Lila, Greta and others; Rafael V. Goldstein as Will, the Army guy, and others; and, of course Tim Getman as Greg. The each were downright perfect.

I appreciated watching Janet move from a challenger to Viv in the grief group to part of the world affected by Greg. The way the two changed how they interacted was effective and affecting. Kat perfectly delivered Lila, a part of the family we needed to be there. Rafael was super strong and impactful as M’s boyfriend. You could tell he cared about his environmental diatribes and about people. And, well, the story focuses on Greg, and Tim reacted, changed, spaced out, focused, and held our attention naturally — he was completely believable in a role with rapid and difficult transitions.

In addition to the actors, I appreciated how the costumes by Lux Haac ranged from middle-age reasonableness to young drag spectacular. All appropriate and making the scenes more cohesive.

Finally, a shout out to the set designer Sibyl Wickersheimer for giving us uncluttered space that appropriately evoked the house, yard, club, and hospital. Special appreciation for the clumps of appropriate wild grass that Greg filled the stage with.

The one aspect of the show I’d consider changing is the appearance of the Army Guy. His sole purpose seems to be to deliver facts about how the US military is an awful polluter. Okay. Fine. But I am not sure we need that extra information or character in this story.

But, wow. What a powerful, meaningful, grabbing show. Thank you and congratulations to writer, director, cast, artistic staff, and crew.

I’ve the asked if I “liked” the show. All I can say is “like” is not the right word. But, I will see it again and I highly recommend it.