Special Fundraiser for the Johanne Lepine Foundation Pulitzer Prize-winning Play WIT, by Margaret Edson at the Great Canadian Theatre Company - January 26 at 2 pm

Donald Lyons, of The Wall Street Journal, calls it "an original and urgent work of art . . . among the finest plays of the decade."

Peter Marks,of The New York Times, says it is "[A] brutally human and beautifully layered new play . . . you feel both enlightened and, in a strange way, enormously comforted."

Pulitzer Prize winner Margaret Edson has created a work that is as intellectually challenging as it is emotionally immediate. At the start of Wit, Vivian Bearing, Ph.D., a renowned professor of English who has spent years studying and teaching the brilliantly difficult metaphysical sonnets of John Donne, has been diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. "It is not my intention to give away the plot," Vivian announces near the beginning of the play, "but I think I die at the end."

Her approach to her illness is not unlike her approach to the study of Donne: aggressively probing, intensely rational, deeply witty. But during the course of her illness-and her stint as a prize patient in an experimental chemotherapy program at a major teaching hospital-Vivian comes to reassess her life and her work with a profundity and humor that are transformative both for her and for the audience.

In honour of this unique play, the GCTC has joined forces with Women's Educational Business Breakfast (WEBB) and the Johanne Lepine Foundation, a charity working with the ovarian cancer community in the City of Ottawa, for a fundraising gala. The event will benefit the Johanne Lepine Foundation and the GCTC.

This special occasion will take place on Sunday, January 26, 2003 at the Great Canadian Theatre Company. The festivities begin at 2:00PM with the performance. Following the show, you will have the chance to mingle with the cast of Wit and enjoy good wine and delectable, mouth-watering creations from the Preston Street chefs. And there will be a few surprises to entertain. After the show, the audience will go over to Trattoria Caffe Italia's Sopra (upstairs on Preston St.)

Don't forget your pocketbook as there will be the opportunity to participate in a silent auction with lots of intriguing prizes. Spoil and pamper yourself at the spa or with a home relaxation package, or surprise a friend with a gourmet lunch. Whatever your taste, there will be something for you. Winners of the auction will be announced at Trattoria Caffe Italia Sopra by CJOH's Carol Anne Meehan.

Tickets for the fundraiser are $75 each. A tax receipt will be issued for each ticket.

Call the GCTC box office to reserve your ticket at (613) 236 5196.