Thoughts on Marjorie Prime

Only one more show this week and then it's back to couchsurfing for me!  I've enjoyed seeing so much theater, but I admit to being ready for a break.  My brain is tired.  But, as I've said before, I have a really hard time saying 'no' to a discount.  I registered to win $5 tickets to the first preview performance of Jordan Harrison's Marjorie Prime at Playwrights Horizons, but didn't win them.  I thought it a clever idea for PH to send me an e-mail, offering $20 tickets to a preview this week.  I'm sure Thanksgiving week can be harder for Off-Broadway, so it was a smart way to fill up their house.  Although, to be honest, there were quite a few empty seats last night, which was disappointing.  I can only imagine the houses will fill as the run progresses.  Since I saw only the third or fourth preview, I'll just offer a few thoughts.

Although this play has had a couple of productions already (and was a finalist for last year's Pulitzer Prize), I'm thinking there are still changes afoot for this particular production because there is a new director and some new actors, except for the two leads, the incomparable Lois Smith and Lisa Emery.  I'm a big fan of them both already, especially Lois Smith, who is just magic onstage.  She's one of those people who just glow from within when they're onstage, I think.  I try to see nearly every play she does.  I was so happy to see a profile on her in the New York Times last week, though I'm bummed it gave a plot point away.  I wish I hadn't known about that plot point before seeing the show - I heard some gasps in the audience and wished I could've experienced that feeling, too.  So, my recommendation is:  see Marjorie Prime, it's terrific, but wait to read the article about Lois Smith in the Times until after you see the show.  I'd also recommend reading the pieces by Tim Sanford and Jordan Harrison on Playwright Horizons' website after you see the show.  I read them both this morning and found them terrifically interesting.

Marjorie Prime tells a touching story about so many things - memory, grief, technology, aging, artificial intelligence, familial love and forgiveness.  I found the piece very thought-provoking, moving and (if I'm being honest) just the tiniest bit confusing.  The confusion didn't lessen my enjoyment, in fact, it only made me want to see the play again to try to piece together what I may have missed.  I did love how the play provided new and valuable information in slow and steady measurements, almost like the way memories are being fed to the characters.  As someone who is always interested in how the vagaries of memory can affect the past, present and future, Marjorie Prime is a new and different example of how to deal with those vagaries.

photo credit: Craig Schwartz (from the LA production)

Even with knowing a key plot point beforehand (Times articles really need to put 'spoiler alert' at the top), there were still some surprises and shocks in the play, surprises and shocks that distressed and moved me deeply.  I certainly have never seen a story like this before and I was engrossed throughout.  Lois Smith is giving yet another amazingly full-faceted performance.  She was sassy and sad, irascible and charming.  You can see why she's been a handful, but you can also completely empathize with her plight.  Lisa Emery was also wonderful as Smith's daughter - they really could be related, they share a lot of the same quirks and vocal qualities.  Emery also shows so many layers to the quirky, tired Tess, and where she ends up was a complete and utter twist, but not unearned or out of the blue, if you pay attention to the clues the playwright lays out for us.

The two gentlemen in the cast were also terrific, in quieter but fully supportive ways.  I was quite taken with Stephen Root, who I mainly know for his comic roles on tv.  He was grand as Emery's empathetic husband, who says he understands what's happening, but he really doesn't until he's confronted with realities he's never expected.  He was such a real and believable person/character to me, especially as peacemaker, since I often play that role in my family.  Noah Bean has a complicated part to play, but he does a great job of reaching out yet holding back.  He could easily be a science fiction caricature, but Bean finds some interesting, yet completely textually accurate, shadings.

I very much enjoyed Marjorie Prime and do want to go back again.  Though, given my "I need to go on the wagon" pronouncement, I'm not sure if I can fit it into my schedule.  We'll just have to see, I guess.  But, in the meantime, I'll enjoy using my memory to think about Jordan Harrison's ruminations on memories.  You should go check it out, too...