Theater: “Letters from Max” by Sarah Ruhl @ Signature

Ewing’s Sarcoma is a death sentence no young person wants to receive. The second most common bone tumor found in children and young adults, it usually affects the femur, shinbone, and humerus but it can also metastasize to the lungs, bone marrow, and other soft tissues.

Playwright Sarah Ruhl has created a play “Letters to Max” which boldly takes on this cruel and heartbreaking disease. It’s based on her real-life friendship with Max Ritvo, a young student she accepted into her Yale playwriting class—partly based on his application which stated he was a “poet and a comedian.”

In the play, currently in previews at Signature, two actors recite the witty, literate letters and e-mails exchanged between Ruhl and Max over a six-year period. Besides Max’s poetry, they discuss, among other things, the afterlife, Harry Potter, and the virtues of soup.

What makes Max’s decline watchable—and the whole play, for that matter—are the actors who portray Ruhl and Max. Jessica Hecht can do no wrong in any performance we’ve seen here in, and she makes Ruhl approachable, wise and funny. Zane Pais, whom we saw as Max (he alternates with Ben Edelman in the role) combines the good looks of a young Robert Sean Leonard and the energetic stage presence of Timothee Chalomet. It is hard to believe that this vital young person is headed for an early death—something he clearly does not want.

The lesson to be learned here? Enjoy every moment of life while you’re healthy and able to. And if the muse inspires you, put your experiences in writing. It’s certainly worked for Sarah Ruhl in “Letters from Max.”