Medical History Infuses ‘Who Lives?’

Christopher Meeks’ “Who Lives?” at the 24th Street Theatre attempts to examine the ethical issues that arise when human beings are called upon to assign a specific qualitative value to individual lives.

The characters in Meeks’ play find themselves in just such a dilemma. Set in the early 1960s, Meeks’ factually based drama explores how a committee of ordinary citizens in Seattle--where one of the first kidney dialysis machines in the world was developed--selected, from among the hundreds of dying, the few who would undergo the life-saving experimental protocol.

In an era when insurance companies routinely disallow vital treatments on the basis of actuarial statistics, this little-known incident from medical history packs considerable dramatic potential. Also fascinating is Meeks’ treatment of the female characters in his pre-feminist period piece. The byplay between the play’s abrasive main character Gabriel (John Pleshette) and his carefully repressed trophy wife, Margaret (Cynthia Steele), foreshadow a profound and imminent social change.

However, despite the historical and sociological interest it generates, Meeks’ play misfires badly on almost every front. The citizens on the committee are stereotypical, the committee itself becomes a transparently didactic device for the expression of society’s ills, and the irascible Gabriel’s ultimate segue into self-sacrifice seems risibly melodramatic. Debbie Devine’s callow direction and generally unwieldy performances further undermine the shaky structure of this missed opportunity.

* “Who Lives?,” 24th Street Theatre, 1117 W. 24th St., North University Park. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 and 7 p.m. Ends Aug. 24. $12. (213) 658-4050. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.