Wit is a play by the American schoolteacher an playwright Margaret Edson, her first play. Edson used her work experience in a hospital as part of the inspiration for her play.Wit received its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, California, in 1995. Long Wharf Theater, Connecticut, subsequently staged the play in November 1997, with Kathleen Chalfant in the lead role. The play received its first New York City production in September 1998, at the MCC Theater, with Chalfant reprising her lead performance as Vivian Bearing. An excerpt from the play was published in the New York Times in September 1998. Chalfant received strong praise for her performance. She also incorporated her own life experience into her work on the play, including the final illness and death of her brother Alan Palmer from cancer. The play moved to the Union Square Theater in December 1998, after its successful initial run in New York City.