Tuesdays with Morrie - Taproot Theatre

April 15

“Don’t hide your light under a bushel”. This is one of the many clever little life lessons that terminally ill patient Morrie tells his friend and former student Mitch in “Tuesdays with Morrie,” the theatre adaptation of Mitch Albom’s autobiographical bestseller now playing at the Taproot Theatre.

A two man play, “Tuesdays with Morrie” chronicles the weekly Tuesday visits by Mitch, a sportswriter who, though successful, has “lost his way”, to his former professors house where he interviews Morrie and gets his many views on life. Morrie is dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease, which cripples him slowly and painfully; his progression from walker, to wheelchair, to bed ridden is the basic timeline of the play.

Last seen at Taproot in September in “Susan and God”, Nolan Palmer shines as Morrie Schwartz bringing all the charm, quirkiness, and sincerity to endure his character to the audience. Aaron Lamb does a fine job as Mitch but Palmer is the true star and the main reason to see this play.

As far as the play itself is concerned it will either tug (or yank) on your heart strings or it won’t. It’s a feel good story and very sentimental and while many audience members were clearly moved by the final scenes, I found it to be, overall, a little too sappy for my likes.

But Palmer is wonderful and even if it doesn’t hit you the way it’s hoping to, there should be at least a couple memorable zingers from Morrie that will stay with you.

Tuesdays with Morrie runs to April 25th at the Taproot which is located at 204 N. 85th Street, Seattle, WA 98103