Daily Deacon

WFUs Reaction to The Waiting Room // Rachel Hirsch

The Waiting Room opened on the mainstage at Wake Forest University February 12th through the 21st and was directed by their very own, John E. R. Friedenberg.

The play is focused around three women who are from different time periods and of different cultures who are all waiting in the same doctor’s office. All three women struggle to meet the standards of beauty in society. The play is described as a “dark comedy [that] will have you squirming with laughter as the characters struggle to beat the system and win at life.”

Friedenberg, WFUs Director of Theatre, explained that the play had a lot to say and he didn’t exactly know how each audience would react, but said “the main thing he wanted the audience to leave with was having seen the same play he thought was there.”

He discussed how each audience was going to be very different in their reaction from each other especially when it came to laughter which would be hard for his cast to deal with.

Lillie Burrow, who played Victoria, one of the main women described how the audience was hesitant to laugh at the beginning of the play because of the dark material, but eventually they warmed up to actually being okay to laugh at everything.

“Someone laughed at a scene that shouldn’t have provoked laughter, which was weird to handle” Burrow said.

When asked what the intended reaction of the audience to her character was she said, “I’m not too sure, but I hoped people would laugh at my lines and eventually cry when I was forced to return to my terrible, hysterical husband.”

Tyler Johnson, who played Larry, the Board of the Hospital experienced some of the same struggles as his castmember Burrow. He said, “Some nights a joke would kill and then other nights I would pause for laughter and it was completely silent.”

Heather Sullivan, who played Wanda, another main women had a different take on the reaction to the play than Burrow and Johnson. She talked about the audience members who approached her after the show rather then the reaction during the play.

“Some people told me that they laughed or cried and others said the playwright tried to tackle too many issues. Someone even told me they thought the first half was funny and then the second half took them by surprise” Sullivan said.

Sullivan discussed how out of all the plays she had done at WFU this was the play that gave her the most positive and thoughtful responses.

Sammy Moorin, a Sophomore at WFU and audience member said she loved the play and thought it was hilarious.

“I went to the play to get credit for a WGS class assignment, but I thought the commentary on the feminist struggles throughout the years was brilliantly done” Moorin said.

To see a review on the play from The Winston-Salem Journal, click here.