Previously published on October 12, 2021
A mysterious illness ravages a small Midwestern town, causing a heated debate between modern medicine and religious faith.
According to North High School instructor Tim Hess, Jim Leonard Jr.’s powerful play “Anatomy of Gray” was chosen as a possible play for the school’s drama department long before the coronavirus pandemic.
“The play had actually been on our short list for two years,” Hess said as student actors rehearsed scenes at the school’s auditorium stage a few days before showtime. “Given everything the students have been through during the pandemic, the play is even more relevant now.”
The show was performed at North High School on Oct. 7, 8 and 9.
Surprisingly, “Anatomy of Gray” — which is set in the tiny town of Gray, Indiana a few years after the Civil War — was originally written as an allegory of the AIDS epidemic.
“That was the playwright’s intent when he wrote it in 2006,” Hess said. “Balancing what is God’s will against advanced medical science is certainly not a new debate which started with COVID. It has been going on for a very long time.”
Read the full story by The Sioux City Journal’s Earl Horlyk here.