Swit has just flown to Hawaii from Guam where she had performed the one-woman play, "Shirley Valentine."
She is here to do the same, but it seems that talking about "M*A*S*H" is a natural point of departure.
"No one ever gets tired about talking about a wonderful experience but you may only fix on 'M*A*S*H' because you may have enjoyed the show so much," she said. "Actually, everyone became well known for it." But through that show's long run, she continued to work on other projects, "so I wasn't concerned about what would happen" when it ended.
Life after "M*A*S*H" has gone smoothingly for Swit. Besides numerous other television appearances, she's been performing "Valentine" since 1991 throughout the United States.
"Shirley Valentine" is the story of a tired Liverpool housewife who longs to escape her existence and experience adventure. In the play she mimics everyone in her life - about 25 characters - and becomes these characters while drawing the audience in with her sadness and humor.
"It's a beautiful character and so well written. What Shirley speaks and thinks is so logical that an actor tells herself 'Of course, she's feeling this.'"
Swit emphasizes that "Shirley Valentine" is not some anti-male diatribe but "a humanist play about love and relationships" from the woman's point of view.
"It's as much about Shirley's husband Joe Bradshaw as it is about her. Sometimes a relationship succumbs to different labels and the lovers, newlyweds, married couple, whomever becomes mommy, daddy, breadwinner, housekeeper, girlfriend, next door neighbor, drinking buddy. These labels separate them from the people they started out as."
Shirley sees it happening to her marriage and wants to stop it.
"She's become invisible in the marriage to her husband and kids, then she runs into an old friend who reminds her about what she used to be like. Shirley remembers the fun, the laughter that used to exist in her marriage. She wonders what happen ed here?"
"Shirley Valentine" is a journey between Shirley and the audience exploring how to get back to that special place where couples start.
Joe hates traveling and never leaves Liverpool. Shirley decides to travel alone to Greece then calls him to say she's not returning home because "Joe doesn't need or want her anymore." And then - well, go see the play.
"Shirley Valentine" is part reality check for couples who have stopped communicating. At one point, Shirley even asks the audience "Did something happen to us or did nothing happen?"
"It would be easier to understand if something happened than if nothing happened," Swit said. "Sometimes it takes someone in the relationship to say they want a better quality of life, back to where they once were..."
The play, Swit says, is full of "life and hope."
"It says it's never too late to go out and...get that feeling back. The pursuit of happiness is in our Constitution. We're all entitled to have the best we can."
Shirley's dream is simple: To sit on a beach somewhere and have a glass of wine in the place where they press the grapes.
"I truly love her. She's so full of life and energy that she's ready to bust. And even after all this time of doing her, I still find something fresh each time out. It is, after all, a play about growth."