Beyond Words

The title of this entry is that of a play inspired by my life with Alex…the big news is that it will have its New York City premiere at the Ensemble Studio Theater in February, 2027. But I thought that it would be interesting to learn how it came about…

Right after Alex passed away, in September, 2007, I was—not surprisingly—overwhelmed with grief. I agreed to work on a memoir at the time because I thought that it would be a way to ensure Alex’s legacy, and I was promised that I would have control over the content. The next few months were some of the most difficult in my life, but the book, Alex & Me, came out just about a year later, and made the New York Times best-seller list (#16). After the book tour, I swore I was done with such things, having been completely mentally and physically drained.

And I mostly kept my promise to myself, rejecting offers from people to produce operas, Hollywood films, etc. I just couldn’t see how any of those proposals would do justice to Alex’s legacy or how they could possibly put his contribution to science at the forefront of the work. I didn’t want to lose control of what he meant to the scientific world. And I wanted people to understand the struggles I had had getting this research accepted by the scientific community.

As a woman, and one trained in a discipline far removed from either nonhuman behavior or linguistics (i.e., chemistry), I was not easily admitted to academic ranks. But I didn’t want our lives to be portrayed as a “sob story” either. I did agree to work on a documentary with Emily Wick (trained by the “Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” producer Judy Irving, so I knew it would be appropriately executed), which became the award-winning “Life with Alex.” And, because it was a documentary, I had faith that it would be scientifically accurate, and that, again, I’d have control over the factual content.

A Play That Puts Alex’s Science On Center Stage

I continued to have more offers to publicize Alex’s life, and I continued to reject them, fearing commercialization of what was serious science. And then one day, I received an email. A playwright, Laura Maria Censabella, was interested obtaining a grant from the Sloan Foundation in New York City to work on a script about Alex and my scientific career. The Sloan Foundation is known for plays about science that put science first (think Proof, Copenhagen, QED, and Photograph 51). And, well, I had always loved theater growing up in NYC and thought it might, just possibly, be an appropriate venue.

I was intrigued, but not yet convinced. However, the playwright had contacted a biologist on Sloan’s research panel, asking if he might by any chance know me and provide an introduction. Well…obviously, the Fates were involved, because his wife is my colleague and had been a BFF for decades. I still was a bit leery, but I attended a production of a play by Censabella and was absolutely impressed at her skill in making complex characters come alive. She won the grant, and I was assured that I would have complete control over the scientific content, although I would have to accept some leeway on the biographic facts for the dramatic arc of the story.

Several years, and many drafts later (most of which she didn’t like enough to share), we had a play! And, yes, the science was absolutely accurate. As for my personal story—well, even if some liberties were taken for dramatic impact, it was not very far from the truth. [I have to say that helping with the eventual rehearsals years later was quite a bit like being in therapy! For example: Seeing actors portraying interactions between me and my then-husband, and being asked about what I was feeling and our reactions to one another.]

But just about the time the play was ready for prime time, COVID hit…forget about any production anywhere! Theaters closed for 18 months. The first reading, at the Ensemble Studio Theater, was not until the spring of 2022. No set, no costumes, basically just actors reading the script…yet the audience gave it a standing ovation! We were encouraged, but even with that success, theater-going overall was still depressed for quite some time, and mounting a production of anything—much less a new, untried piece—was quite a gamble for a while longer. Finally, in the spring of 2024, the Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA, decided the time was ready.

We were thrilled when it received strong positive reviews and was named a Boston Globe Critic’s Pick and was considered “one of the season’s standout ‘unlikely successes’ in drawing audiences during a challenging post-pandemic climate for regional performing arts.” The actor who played Alex was nominated for an Elliot Norton Theater Award (Boston’s equivalent of the Tonys). And now New York…

My hope is that the play will inspire a new generation of scientists to think about nonhumans as sentient individuals with whom we share nature, whose intelligence and lives we respect, and with whom we can work together to improve our world.