A taut, realistic drama with a fine cast, The God Committee closely examines how physicians decide which patient will receive a transplant organ, literally picking who will live and who will die.
St. Patrick's Day, New York City: A team of doctors and hospital administrators meet to discuss the status of patients on their transplant list. With a newly harvested heart en route to the hospital, the group must vote quickly -- in less than an hour -- to decide which patient will receive it, since organs quickly become unusable. Three patients are eligible, but each has factors that could disqualify them.
One patient is young but has a history of drug use. One is a loner, and supportive family and friends are key to recovery after a transplant. The third has a supportive family, but recent mental instability -- including a suicide attempt -- counts against her. To complicate matters, the first patient's rich father offers the program a large endowment, and the implicit bribe divides the team: Despite the obvious ethical dilemma, several feel the money might help the program.
Playwright Mark St. Germain (Ears on a Beatle) deftly demonstrates the wide variety of influences and pressures -- emotional, professional, even financial -- that affect these choices. In a life-or-death situation, that should be enough. However, he also tries to pump up the drama by injecting grave personal crises into the characters' backstories. One person is facing cancer; another is grieving over the loss of a daughter. These additions feel contrived and distract from the situation's inherent drama. Further, the ending, while probably realistic, lacks the dramatic punch the story seems to be building toward.
Under Kevin Moriarty's crisp direction, the cast is uniformly excellent. In particular, Larry Keith and Brenda Thomas create what feels like a tangible long-standing friendship. Michael Mulheren brings a whimsical warmth to his lawyer-turned-priest. And Maha Chehlaoui, playing the youthful proxy, more than holds her own in a roomful of veterans.
Presented by Carolyn Rossi Copeland and Robert Stillman
at the Lamb's Theatre, 130 W. 44th St., NYC.
March 29 -Apr. 16, Tue.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Wed. and Sat., 2 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.
(212) 230-6200 or www.telecharge.com.
Casting by Pat McCorkle, CSA.