‘Mercy Killers’ is merciless is in its very personal indictment of the American health care system.
In Mercy Killers, Michael Milligan is a man struggling with our dysfunctional health care system as his wife is dying of cancer. Photo by Nicholas Betito.
Date: Tue-Wed, May 12-13, 2015
Time: 8 p.m.
Where: The Vortex
Address: 2307 Manor Rd., Austin, TX 78722
General Admission: $20
Artist/Student/Senior: $10
Box Office: 512-478-5282
Buy online: Mercy Killers tickets at the Vortex
[Unlike with health care, no one will be turned away for lack
of funds.]
AUSTIN — The award-winning drama, Mercy Killers, written and performed by Michael Milligan, is coming to Austin and other Texas venues in May.
Mercy Killers has played Off-Broadway and in regional theaters, medical schools, and community centers throughout the country. Now Health Care for All – Texas is bringing the play to audiences in San Antonio, Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin. Go here for information on all Texas performances.
In Austin, Mercy Killers will be performed at The Vortex at 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 12-13, 2015. The Vortex, a performance space that also houses a repertory theater company, is located at 2307 Manor Rd. in Austin. Each Austin performance will be followed by an actor/audience discussion.
Mercy Killers is a moving love story and a fearless look at health care in America. In the play, Milligan’s blue collar “Joe” has to re-examine his red state ideals as he faces wrenching choices caring for his beloved wife.
“This is one-man theater at its very best,” says the British review guide, Broadway Baby, and American Theater Magazine calls the show “Beautiful and Heartbreaking.”
Chris Hedges writes that “Milligan’s high-octane performance is raw with grief, rage and incomprehension. The stark set — a chair, a bright light and a table — highlights Joe’s loneliness, inadequacy and abandonment. And by the end of the play, a for-profit health care system that is responsible for more than 60 percent of all U.S. bankruptcies is no longer just a matter of statistics. Its reality is felt like the blast of a furnace.” Read Hedges’ full review at Truthdig
