“The Heart” has Soul

Nov 3, 2026 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Sue Weston and Susie Rosenbluth, Two Sues on the Aisle

Imagine putting your favorite Emergency Medical drama on stage, then add music, and you’ve got The Heart, a new musical playing at the Roundabout – Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre through December 13. Written by Kait Kerrugan, with music and lyrics by Anne and Ian Eisendrath, and based on Maylis de Kerangal’s novel Mend the Living (Réparer les Vivants), The Heart tells a story that will get under your skin, balancing family and medicine in a race against time. Experience the events as they unfold in the 24 hours after a fatal car crash. The Heart is a heartwarming musical that highlights the human element of organ donation.

The Heart is untraditional in that it follows 19-year-old Simon’s heart (Nick T. Daly gives an amazing performance). His estranged parents, Marianne (Joaquina Kalukango) and Sean (Jason Tam), must decide how to proceed. Once Simon is declared brain dead, the clock begins to tick. Would Simon have wanted to be an organ donor? Who even discusses that with their 19-year-old? One minute, he was surfing on a California beach at dawn, and the next, an accident put him in a coma with no hope of recovery. It is a parent’s worst nightmare.

Mesmerized From the First Moment

As the lights dim, the theater fills with the sound of a heartbeat, loud, measured, the image of an electrocardiogram rhythm displayed, evoking a visceral reaction. The show follows this speed, the pulse, purposeful and consistent, setting the pace for the events that will follow. The music pulls together the show. The timing and tempo change as the circle of events plays out, pausing, backing up, and advancing in unison. The performers fluidly play multiple roles converging on center stage, blending in a well-choreographed, coordinated circle.

The stage is stark, transforming easily from a hospital waiting room, beach, and nightclub, in the same way that the actors change character with the addition of a sweater or hat. This is the magic of theater as it should be.

Heartbreaking Situation

Events move rapidly once Simon arrives at the Emergency Room, dead-on-arrival. The medical team slips into a coordinated pattern, which is only broken when Simon’s frantic mother rushes in. Unable to reach her ex-husband or get information about her son, she slips past the front desk. She finds Simon, singing ‘I Will Never Let You Go,’ a song that touched our hearts, conveying her grief and hopes for his recovery.

She discovers that he is brain-dead, and the condition is irreversible. Using a sequence of flashbacks, which are simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming, Simon becomes real.

Although the situation may be bleak, Cordelia (Bre Jackson), the nurse watching over Simon, sings “Right Now,” keeping his comatose body company. Both the song and her voice are breathtaking. Despite all that Cordelia has going on in her personal life, she finds the time to be with the patient’s family, to help them transition through the organ donation process with humanity.

More than a Medical Procedure

The Heart shows the human side of the medical staff, who put aside their personal commitments and fall into action as a well-oiled machine that genuinely cares about the outcomes. The organ donation registry agent Marthe (Wren Rivera) abruptly ends a game to focus on locating the matching donors, a doctor leaves his son’s bar mitzvah, and the transplant coordinator drops everything to walk Simon’s parents through the decision-making process.

The medical team are professionals who place their work above everything. We felt the tension that the medical team is experiencing, keenly aware of the passage of time. The lyrics that reinforce the message ‘It’s the details, it’s precision, it’s the weight of each decision’ are delivered in staccato of the statements, matching the movement. Their efficient, disciplined response is contrasted with the emotional state and decisions facing Simon’s family, girlfriend Juliette (Max McKenna), and future recipient Claire (Heidi Blickenstaff), who had almost given up hope.

Non-Conventional Musical

The Heart is an emotional journey that will bring tears to your eyes while leaving you with genuine hope. It’s unimaginable to have to decide what to do when an accident has ended a young life, but it can give a stranger a second chance. One beating heart can connect two families, thanks to a dedicated medical team. The Heart was unexpectedly uplifting, nine performers transitioning into multiple roles in near-continuous motion as the clock ticks down.

Long after leaving the theater, we found ourselves thinking about The Heart, the true mark of unforgettable theater.