MATTAPOISETT — Veronica may be dead, but her story is far from over.

On Friday, Aug. 8, the Marion Art Center is presenting “Miss Witherspoon,” a dark comedic play about reincarnation and mental illness that features Veronica as the protagonist.

“Despite the fact that the main character is dead … it’s really about life, about what the best way to live yours is, not just for you, but for the people around you,” said actor Benjamin Freeman.

Freeman plays every male character in the show, including a chicken, Gandalf and a drug dealer. 

He called the play “delightfully absurd in all the best ways possible,” adding that it “takes you by surprise at a lot of points.”

Maura Van Voris of Mattapoisett plays Veronica, who is also called Miss Witherspoon, in the production.

“She is a little volatile, at times aggressive, but kind of like a scared child,” she said.

Van Voris plays several variations of Veronica as she gets reincarnated into different people — and sometimes animals —- throughout the show.

“It’s a really fun challenge to be constantly one character and another character all at the same time, as well as being yourself, and it’s like these multiple levels of knowledge,” she said.

Tails Carreiro of Mattapoisett plays Maryamma, who acts as a spiritual guide for Veronica.

“Maryamma is very determined to get her to reincarnate and try to live life to the fullest,” she said. “She’s so calm, kept together.”

Freeman noted that each time Veronica is reincarnated and speaks with Maryamma, she “learns various lessons, gains various enlightenments, which carry over.”

Audience members get to see “this beautiful transformation,” he said, noting, “It is an experience as you grow with Veronica because she really takes you by the neck and drags you through this journey with her.”

Van Voris noted that playwright Christopher Durang, who wrote “Miss Witherspoon” in 2005, had a “very interesting way of looking at the world.”

“All of his plays clearly are like, ‘That person has a mental illness,’ and so it has almost a tongue in cheek element,” she said.

Van Voris explained that Veronica has several mental illnesses, including Bipolar I, an anxiety disorder, and ADHD and noted that “you can see the mental illness with her.”

“She is overwhelmed by the world. Living is too much for her. It feels too much and so she’s constantly trying to remove herself from that situation,” she said.

Cynthia Johnson of Mattapoisett plays Mother One and Mother Two and noted that even though the play was written 20 years ago, it’s “still very relevant to people.”

“It shows … that we’re still dealing with the same issues as a society, and it’s important because one of the messages of the play is about advocating for … breaking down travel differences and global understanding,” she said.

Carreiro said that “Miss Witherspoon” would be a good play for anyone who enjoys dark and religious humor.

She explained that there are religious themes that tie in with some of the jokes, with the dark humor surrounding the fact that “there’s a lot of Veronica being happy about killing herself.”

“We poke a lot at religion, poke a lot at stereotypes and societal conventions, and it becomes really absurd in some ways but that absurdity is where a lot of the humor is —  it’s where the fun is,” Johnson said.

Van Voris noted that while the show does get dark, it’s “part of why we can laugh because you can’t laugh properly if you don’t have darkness.”

“It’s a show to come to to get amused, to get entertained, but to think, which is kind of what we want in theater — a little entertainment, a little thinking,” she said.

Performance dates are Friday, Aug. 8 through Sunday, Aug. 10, Friday, Aug. 15 through Sunday, Aug. 17 and Friday, Aug. 22 through Sunday, Aug. 24. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinee shows at 2 p.m.

Tickets are available online at marionartcenter.org/events and are priced at $20 for members of the Marion Art Center and $23 for non-members.