In the plotting of ["The Shadow Box"], Mr. Cristofer has skillfully threaded together what amount to three variations on a single theme. His patients have it in common that they are about to die and that neither they nor anyone around them is able to behave "naturally," their emotion is that of the ancient Latin refrain "Timor mortis conturbat me," which the intellectual would no doubt translate to his unlettered lover as "Fear of death gives me the willies." Hard as it may be to credit, "The Shadow Box" is by no means a gloomy affair; again and again it astonishes us by being hilarious. Moreover, something like joy enters into the final moments of the play, when Mr. Cristofer abandons the realistic mode in favor of a chorus of chanted lyrical affirmations by the entire company. Seize this moment, the company adjures us, and then, if you are lucky, you may be able to seize the next as well; whatever death may be, life is a fine thing and well worth the living.