Missing the Big Picture

Re: Don Shirley’s review of Kenneth Lonergan’s play at the Pasadena Playhouse (“Picture of a Family in Crisis Hangs in ‘The Waverly Gallery,’ ” July 9):

Shirley just doesn’t get it. And I am glad for him that he seemingly hasn’t had to deal with aging parents who lose their hearing, their sight and, inexorably, their minds. He dismisses the play because at various times members of the audience said to each other, “I know what’s going to happen now” or “I know how this ends,” and he faults the playwright for being so obvious.

They knew what was going to happen because they obviously had been there, not because the playwright didn’t show enough imagination. The drama here is the deterioration of a human being and the agony of those left behind to deal with it. And more dramatic still is the universality.

This is, as Lonergan shows us, a human being who must be treated with respect--no matter how crushing an intellectual and emotional burden this places on everyone.

BOBBY MacDONALD

Woodland Hills