Book by Morris Panych. Music and lyrics by John Mann. Directed by Morris Panych. An Arts Club production. At the Granville Island Stage on Wednesday, October 7. Continues until October 31

Parts of it are brilliant and other bits are blank.

The design is an unqualified success. When The Waiting Room, which is a musical, starts, about all we see is the sky-blue back wall of the stage. Then tiers of white chairs descend from the fly gallery. The moment is so surreal and simply beautiful that you’re immediately grateful for being in the hands of designer Ken MacDonald.

The story is homegrown. Morris Panych based his script on the experience of local musician John Mann, and his solo album—also called The Waiting Room—which explores Mann’s diagnosis and treatment for colorectal cancer.

The main problem with the script is that it stays simple and superficial for too long. In the central conceit, J has conversations with C, a nine-year-old girl who died of leukemia. C has arrived, she announces, to escort J to the other side. In the meantime, he goes through the medical system, where he finds some good jokes. Addressing the audience, a medical assistant says, “Excuse me, but while you’re enjoying the show, I have to go lube up another anus.”

All of the characters are broad, however, and the scenes are a predictable checklist—first doctor’s visit, tests, diagnosis—that lacks emotional resonance: J is freaked out, but we don’t get a lot of details, so his state remains generic. And J’s relationship with his wife, L, repeats itself: she keeps telling us, for instance, that she wants to quit her job.
Then, right around the point at which J is getting prepped for surgery, The Waiting Room finds its feet. Hopped up on pre-anesthetic drugs, J and two other guys hallucinate.

The eccentricity is fun, but the show clicks into gear here because the stakes get real. Surgery is a big deal and Mann, who had the surgery in real life, is on-stage as the lead singer in the band.

The script spells out its message about the importance of embracing life and it wastes time resolving the story of the dead girl. But the message is still worth hearing, and, largely because Mann is in the theatre with us, it’s moving.

Besides, Jonathon Young, who plays J, is a phenomenon. It’s not hyperbolic to say that he’s one of the best actors in the world. Just watch his movement here: the guy is a frickin’ dancer. And he’s so radiantly present that every word he utters feels like the absolute truth.

Overall, you couldn’t ask for a stronger cast. Peter Anderson, Chris Cochrane, Jillian Fargey, Bonnie Panych, and Matreya Scarrwener are all at the top of their game.

The movement—Wendy Gorling acted as movement collaborator—is as fanciful as a French cartoon. And, under Morris Panych’s directorial hand, the staging is as precise as a surgical instrument.

Mann’s folk-rock songs, especially the heartfelt and exuberant “Thank You”, are beautiful, and they’re performed here by an all-star band that includes Shari Ulrich on violin.

Ultimately, The Waiting Room is a celebration of Mann and his resilience. Amen to that.