The Elephant Man

By Bernard Pomerance

Presented at
Theatre Wit
1229 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
January 7 — February 6, 2011

Directed by TBA

Produced by TBA

In Victorian London, Dr. Frederick Treves discovers the misshapen, stunted John Merrick in a freak show and rescues him in order to study his peculiar deformity. But Merrick turns out to be unusually bright and articulate, becomes the toast of high society, then commits suicide because his ugly exterior and isolated interior are too much to bear.p>

Pomerance, an American living and writing in England, based the play on actual events but tells his tale in a detached Brechtian manner. The Elephant Man was a Tony-award winning Broadway hit. It opened at the Booth Theatre in 1979 and stayed into 1980, for a total of 916 performances.

Commenting on the 2002 Broadway revival of The Elephant Man, the New York Times said "This startling act of magic is of a kind that only theater affords."

The play is notable for the fact that no prosthetic makeup is used on the actor portraying Merrick. The Elephant Man won all the major drama awards including the Tony, Obie, Drama Desk Award and New York Drama Critics Circle Award. BoHo Theatre takes great pride in bringing this modern classic to the stage as only BoHo can.