When it comes to The Elephant Man, there's a critical elephant in the room
Tim Spears as Joseph (john) Merrick. Production photos: Andrew Brilliant.Ah, The Elephant Man. I've never quite understood the praise that playwright Bernard Pomerance's only success reliably receives. I've sometimes even wondered whether the phenomenon this author attempts to analyze - i.e., people's laudable denial of their reaction to the physical plight of the eponymous Joseph Merrick (for some reason, "Joh…