“Elephants’ Graveyard” looks death in the eye and laughs

The most wonderful friendships survive the test of time. A trusted confidant will become a part of your being. It is that single person with whom you share the heartiest laughs, and your exhilarating joys, most profound regrets, darkest secrets, and deepest sadness. They are your source of cathartic energy and can make you laugh even through tears and fears.

Marjorie Willimson’s new play, “Elephants’ Graveyard,” is a comedic and melancholic look at enduring friendship. Smitty and Margaret, friends since childhood, are now in their 70’s.   Their adult lives have taken different paths. Smitty was a free spirit, while Margaret settled down, married, and had children, but their friendship has never waned. Now the aging women are confronted with mortality and are forced to ponder end of life.

Billed as ‘a mostly funny play about, well...death,’ Williamson’s story says so much more. “Elephants’ Graveyard” is a love letter to genuine friendships with a poignant look at accepting the finality of terminal illness. Smitty and Margaret help one another cope through unfiltered communication, brutal honesty, and mostly humor.

Director Rob Corbett lovingly brings Smitty and Margaret to life in the world premiere production of “Elephants’ Graveyard” at First Run Theatre. Corbett has staged a droll and heartfelt production that never becomes morose. He has lifted Williamson’s characters from the script to create an undeniable relationship that is genuine and authentic.

Actors Jan Meyer (Smitty) and Gwynneth Rausch (Margaret) collaborate with Corbett to create the pragmatic characters who are profoundly resonant. Meyer and Rausch’s unfeigned stage conversations are affectionate, argumentative, crude, and raw. They often disagree or insult each other in ways that only best friends can. They can sit in unawkward silence simply appreciating each other’s presence. Meyer and Rausch’s portrayals bring a natural comfort to Smitty and Margaret. Their characters’ bond is indestructible.

“Elephants’ Graveyard” is a lovely piece of writing. It doesn’t wallow in sadness or pathos. It looks death in the eye and laughs. Corbett, Meyer, and Rausch have given the world premiere of “Elephant’s Graveyard” a beautiful staging. Williamson’s salubrious script proves that when facing even the gravest situations laughter is a pretty damn effective medicine.

First Run Theatre’s production of “Elephants’ Graveyard” continues at the Kranzberg Black Box Theater through November 24, 2024. Tickets are available on Metrotix.com. More information is available at firstruntheatre.org.