Causa Mortis
Encyclopedia
Causa Mortis is a satiric
play by Jacob M. Appel
that lampoons the modern medical establishment. The plot focuses on a woman, Eleanor, whose brain surgeon has accidentally left his watch in her skull. Her daughters urge her to have the timepiece extracted before it harms her, but every surgeon who attempts to remove it dies during the process. Critic Donald Calamia described the play as "a needle in the eyes of an industry that far-too often refuses to admit its human failings."
The play opened at Detroit Repertory Theatre
in November 2009. The production was directed by Bruce E. Millan. It featured actress Sandra Birch as Eleanor, Lisa Lauren Smith as an inept medical student assisting in Eleanor's care and Yolanda Jack as a quadriplegic amnesia
c who shares her hospital room.
The play premiered at the height of public debate over healthcare reform in the United States, a phenomenon noted by many critics.
William Roetzheim
selected Causa Mortis for inclusion in Regional Best 2011
as one of the nine top plays to premiere at regional theaters during the 2009-10 season.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
play by Jacob M. Appel
Jacob M. Appel
Jacob M. Appel is an American author, bioethicist and social critic. He is best known for his short stories, his work as a playwright, and his writing in the fields of reproductive ethics, organ donation, neuroethics and euthanasia....
that lampoons the modern medical establishment. The plot focuses on a woman, Eleanor, whose brain surgeon has accidentally left his watch in her skull. Her daughters urge her to have the timepiece extracted before it harms her, but every surgeon who attempts to remove it dies during the process. Critic Donald Calamia described the play as "a needle in the eyes of an industry that far-too often refuses to admit its human failings."
The play opened at Detroit Repertory Theatre
Detroit Repertory Theatre
Detroit Repertory Theatre is a regional theatre located at 13103 Woodrow Wilson in Detroit, Michigan with a seating capacity of 194. The theatre began as a touring company in 1957 and performed throughout Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvnania, before it established itself on Woodrow Wilson...
in November 2009. The production was directed by Bruce E. Millan. It featured actress Sandra Birch as Eleanor, Lisa Lauren Smith as an inept medical student assisting in Eleanor's care and Yolanda Jack as a quadriplegic amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
c who shares her hospital room.
The play premiered at the height of public debate over healthcare reform in the United States, a phenomenon noted by many critics.
William Roetzheim
William Roetzheim
William Roetzheim is an American poet, publisher and playwright. He is the editor of the Regional Best series anthology of American plays.Roetzheim has published 17 books, including the poetry collection, Thoughts I Left Behind, and more than one hundred scholarly articles. His dramatic works...
selected Causa Mortis for inclusion in Regional Best 2011
Regional Best 2011
Regional Best 2011 is a volume in the Regional Best anthology series, edited by William Roetzheim, that honors the best plays to premiere at major regional and LORT theaters in the United States each year.-Plays included:...
as one of the nine top plays to premiere at regional theaters during the 2009-10 season.