In lesser hands, the prospect of half a dozen actors playing one character would seem more like stunt casting and a gimmicky marketing tool than a solid artistic choice (See: the multiple Dylan's in the 2007 movie "I'm Not There"). But In Tracy Letts' 85-minute world-premiere , the six incarnations of the title character create a drama that pierces the heart, engages the intellect and weaves an extraordinary story from an ordinary life. Directed by Steppenwolf's artistic director Anna D. Shapiro, Mary Page Marlowe is a haunting triumph.
Mary Page isn't a remarkable woman by any stretch. But it's her very ordinariness that makes the play so powerful and moving. Letts wrote Mary Page's character with a specificity and a uniqueness that precludes her turning into an Everywoman. You will surely recognize yourself in her nonetheless. Under Shapiro's intuitive direction, that recognition has the acute edge of a knife blade and a sharpness that cuts the heart.
Unlike Letts' Pulitzer Prize-winning (which Shapiro also directed), there aren't any fireworks or jaw-dropping reveals or tour de force ensemble scenes. The substance abuse that shows up is as banal as the generically middle-class kitchen cabinets where Mary stashes her booze. The pain of untimely death is blunted by the relentless passage of time rather than frozen in tableaux of blood and screams. Minus all sturm und drang histrionics, the production still stings. Mary Page Marlowe's triumphs and bruises are swaddled by days passing into years into lifetimes, but they bear the emotional sweep and weight of grand tragedy even so.
Letts adds complexity and intensity to the drama by showing how Mary's world is often defined as much by factors far beyond her control (genetics, other people's decisions ) as it is by her own inarguably damaging choices. In spare, elegant scenes where not a word is wasted, Mary Page Marlowe illuminates the harsh unfairness of fate and the peril of free will.
Letts doesn't use a linear chronology in telling the story of Mary Page Marlowe. Instead, he offers a series of time-skipping scenes from her life, from her infancy in the 1950s, to her death bed almost 70 years later. The play's structure is intriguing and intelligent, allowing the audience to gain perspective and retrospect as it pieces together the puzzle piece scenes from Mary's life. To his credit, Letts doesn't spell anything out. He leaves it to his audience to figure out the whys propelling the whats that define Mary. In the end, you're left with a vivid, almost photographic collage outlining Mary's story.
Mary Page Marlowe is graced with a female ensemble that gives depth and breadth to its anti-heroine. We see Mary Page at 12 (Caroline Heffernan), in a scene that illuminates that moment in childhood when innocence begins to crumble and the disappointments of adulthood first glimmer. We see her at 50 (Laura T. Fisher, in a scaldingly intense performance), pragmatically owning up to a horrendous decision that will essentially put her life on hold for years while devastating those who love her. We see her at 27 and 36 (Carrie Coon), embarking on a series of endless, loveless affairs and then shrugging at the wreckage to a shrink (Kirsten Fitzgerald).
Shapiro gets able supporting work from Amanda Drinkallas Mary's mother Roberta, and from Ian Barford, who plays Mary's second husband. There's also a humorous (all things considered) turn from Gary Wilmes, as a lover wholly nonplussed and not a little annoyed by Mary's self-sufficient, pragmatic attitude toward affairs.
Todd Rosenthal's effective set falls somewhere between dreamscape and photo-album realism. Rooms appear like shaken Polaroids, and then fade into sepia and darkness. Linda Roethke's costumes provide spots-on visual cues as the story jumps from the 1950s through the 2000s. And Diana Lawrence's original music adds an evocative sonic backdrop that enriches the entire production.
Mary Page Marlowe - both the play and the character - will stay with you long after the curtain drops. You'll leave feeling like Mary Page is someone you've known forever, and someone whose loss you'll never quite stop mourning.
Mary Page Marlowe continues through May 29th at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted (map), with performances Tuesdays-Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays and Sundays 3pm & 7:30pm. Tickets are $20-$89, and are available by phone (312-335-1650) or online through their website (Half-price tickets are available at ). More information at Steppenwolf.org. (Running time: 85 minutes, no intermission)
Blair Brown , Carrie Coon , Laura T. Fisher , Caroline Heffernan , Annie Munch , Rebecca Spence (Mary Page Marlowe), Ian Barford (Ray), Stephen Cefalu Jr. (Ed Marlowe), Amanda Drinkall (Roberta Marlowe), Jack Edwards (Louis Gilbert), Kirsten Fitzgerald (shrink), Tess Frazer (Lorna), Keith D. Gallagher (Ben), Sandra Marquez (nurse), Arianna Venturi (Connie), Madeleine Weinstein (Wendy Gilbert), Alan Wilder (Andy), Gary Wilmes (Dan), Jeanne T. Arrigo (u/s shrink, nurse), Taylor Blim (u/s Mary Page Marlowe, Lorna), Brendan Meyer (u/s Ben, Ed Marlowe), Nina O'Keefe (u/s Mary Page Marlowe, Roberta Marlowe), Hannah Clare Horner, Janice O'Neill, Loretta Rezos (u/s Mary Page Marlowe), Ryan Carlson (u/s Louis Gilbert), Becca Savoy (u/s Wendy Gilbert, Connie), Stephen Smith (u/s Andy), Stephen Walker (u/s Ray, Dan)
behind the scenes
Anna D. Shapiro (director), Todd Rosenthal (set design), Linda Roethke (costume design), Marcus Doshi (lighting design), Richard Woodbury (sound design), Diana Lawrence (original music), (projection design), Edward Sobel (dramaturg), Penny Lane Studios (wig and hair design), Gigi Buffington (voice and text coach), Malcolm Ewen (stage manager), Brian Maschka (assistant stage manager), David Schmitz (managing director), Jonathan Berry (artistic producer), Jessamyn Fuller (casting), Caparelliotis Casting (additional casting), Erin Murray (asst. director), Steve Sorenson (asst. lighting design), Sarah Diefenbach (wardrobe crew), Sarah Lewis (asst. charge artist), Jon Harvey, Jacob Palmer (additional carpentry), Aimee Plant, Andrew Lex, Amanda Herrmann (additional properties), Katie Cora (young performer supervisor), Joseph A. Burke (programmer), Sarah Illiatovitch-Goldman (script supervisor), Katie Creeggan (stage manager apprentice), Ivy Reid, Vanessa Rundle (run crew), Dianna Nora (asst. to Tracy Letts), Michael Brosilow (photos)
Tags: 16-0414, Aimee Plant, Alan Wilder, Amanda Drinkall, Amanda Herrmann, Andrew Lex, Anna D. Shapiro, Annie Munch, Arianna Venturi, Becca Savoy, Blair Brown, Brendan Meyer, Brian Maschka, Caparelliotis Casting, Caroline Heffernan, Carrie coon, Catey Sullivan, Chicago Theater, David Schmitz, Diana Lawrence, Dianna Nora, Edward Sobel, Erin Murray, Gary Wilmes, Gigi Buffington, Hannah Clare Horner, Ian Barford, Ivy Reid, Jack Edwards, Jacob Palmer, Janice O'Neill, Jeanne T. Arrigo, Jessamyn Fuller, Jon Harvey, Jonathan Berry, Joseph A. Burke, Katie Cora, Katie Creeggan, Keith D. Gallagher, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Laura T. Fisher, Linda Roethke, Loretta Rezos, Madeleine Weinstein, Malcolm Ewen, Marcus Doshi, Michael Brosilow, Nina O'Keefe, Penny Lane Studios, post, Rebecca Spence, Richard Woodbury, Ryan Carlson, Sandra Marquez, Sarah Diefenbach, Sarah Illiatovitch-Goldman, Sarah Lewis, Stephen Cefalu Jr., Stephen Smith, Stephen Walker, Steppenwolf Theatre, Steve Sorenson, Sven Ortel, Taylor Blim, Tess Frazer, Todd Rosenthal, Tracy Letts, Vanessa Rundle
Category: 2016 Reviews, Catey Sullivan, New Work, Steppenwolf, Tracy Letts, World Premier
