Marvin’s Room

Marvin’s Room is about the struggle to keep going in the face of impending death. Naturally, it’s a comedy, and a remarkably gentle-natured one. Although the play grew out of the AIDS epidemic, playwright Scott McPherson opted to move the setting outside the gay community. A wise choice; the issues it raises about caretaking for the seriously ill are universal, and will only grow more prominent as the U.S. population ages. The story revolves around the relationship between estranged sisters Bessie and Lee. Bessie, the responsible one, has given up her dreams to take care of their slowly dying father. But when she is herself diagnosed with leukemia, she has to find a way to reconcile with the flighty Lee, who’s also struggling with her arsonist teenage son. This all has the potential to descend into mawkishness, but McPherson’s black humor offsets any excess sap. His own story adds authenticity and pathos; McPherson wrote the play while he and his partner were both dying of AIDS, and he would not live long enough to write another one. Theatre in the Round, (612) 333-3010, www. theatreintheround.org