That Unbuttoning Virginia is both a comedy about a woman finally taking control of her life near what could soon be the end of it and a fractured family reunion drama is no small feat. But what I really love about this play is that it transcends descriptors like these to become something deeper, funnier, sweeter, and more original than I ever could have expected. In fact, Douglass never takes the expected or easy path here, earning every laugh and every discovery through rich characterization.

The image of two children hiding together from the grownups is the most wonderful of reversals in _Unbuttoning Virginia_, a funny and wise look at an old woman staring death in the face. Nora Douglass manages to open the claustrophobia of a hospital room into a remarkable world where old friends see each other for the first time, families reconcile, and the audience participates in a remarkable act of healing.