ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
Sunday, March 06, 2011
'Coma' brings a re-examination of life
By Aurelio Sanchez
Journal Staff Writer
Imagine being 19 and going into a coma, reawakening 19 years later having lost your youth.
It seems tragic, ruinous, treacherously unfair, yet people do it all the time without suffering a coma, said Dennis Cole, who is directing, along with Wendy Cole, a Sandy Boikian work, "My Wonderful Coma," at the Box Performance Space.
Boikian has written a touchingly poignant and inspiring tale about a woman who is 38, going on 19, who has awakened from a 19-year coma to find a changed world, her hopes and dreams behind her, rather than ahead of her.
Monica's tale is one of courage as she struggles to comprehend the changes, and to rediscover the future she lost while sleeping, Cole said.
"One of the themes in the play is that as everybody gets older, their lives become more complicated, there are disappointments and fear that tend to put you in a coma," he said, though you're not even aware of it.
"In the play, we have a theme of redemption lifting us from sorrow to happiness, from death to life," Cole adds.
Monica at 19 is very young and rather selfish, on her way to a great life, when she's in a car accident with her fiance, her best friend and another friend, who is the driver.
She wakes up in a hospital room nearly two decades later, finding that her fiance is married and divorced, her best friend is extremely selfish, and the driver of the car has become a shell-shocked hermit.
"All of a sudden, Monica has found herself in a situation that makes her angry, sad, depressed and vengeful," Cole said. "She at first believes she's trapped in the situation, but she begins to find that there's a way out, and she begins to find hope."
"By squarely facing her situation and accepting it, finally, she begins to give hope to others," he adds.
Cole said the playwright is known as a writer of Christian plays that aren't "preachy," are full of humor and good writing, populated by believable characters with stories that reflect real life.
The play is set to 1980s music, with language by Monica that includes jargon of the time, Cole adds.
"She (Boikian) writes pieces that are aimed for, really, everybody," Cole said. "This is one of her best, and probably her signature play."
Narrow Gate Theatre is producing the play, also produced in November at a performance space owned by the Crestview Baptist Church, Cole said.
"It went really well," he said. "The audiences really liked the play then, and I think they're going to really like it again."
If you go
WHAT: "My Wonderful Coma"
WHEN: 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. today
WHERE: The Box Performance Space, 100 Gold SW
HOW MUCH: Tickets $12 adults, $5 for those 18 and under, at the door or call 259-1282.
Read more: ABQJOURNAL VENUE: 'Coma' brings a re-examination of life http://www.abqjournal.com/venue/062220558852venue03-06-11.htm#ixzz1G1ubtGJy
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