WINSTON-SALEM, NC – A young man with all the time in the world converses sweetly and warily with a charming, if emotional, 85-year-old woman, and a lifetime of grief, confusion, and anger give way to compassion and kindness.
Spirit Gum‘s Marjorie Prime, running through next weekend at the Mountcastle Forum, manages to imagine a near future where death is merely an inconvenience, telling the story of four lives bound together in love and resentment; you know, like a regular family.
Bringing technology into complicated relationships adds both complexity and simplicity to the lives of two couples Marjorie and Walter, Tess and Jon. Not seen on stage, but very present, are two Tonis and a Damien.
In order to say anything about the play, I have to throw in at least one spoiler, so just stop here, if you want the mystery intact. I promise to keep the biggest secret. You’ll have to see the show to discover that. You’ve been warned.
Marjorie’s daughter, Tess, and Tess’ husband Jon have obtained a robotic or pixelated version of Marjorie’s dead husband, Walter, who looks as if he is 30.
Walter Prime, as he is called, learns to relate to humans by listening closely to what is being said, and gradually piecing other people’s memories into his own. His objective is “to be more human.” Not all the humans in the play think it’s a good idea.
The listening piece is important in what it says about how we all listen now in our world of virtual reality, FaceTime vs. real time. How closely do we really listen to one another, and how do we learn? Walter Prime takes it all in, and he becomes a more and more complex and compassionate being.
The set-up in the Mountcastle Forum was simple and functional. A few pieces of furniture – chairs, a kitchen countertop, a sofa, and a kitchen table – describe Marjorie’s home. Walter sits in a straight chair downstage left as the “real” people interact their lifelong affections and complaints and returns to center stage only when he connects with the others.
Music plays a lovely part in the show. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral Symphony) plays as a kind of prelude, and the strains of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” lead into some of Marjorie’s memories.
Karen Bell-Chandler was masterful as Marjorie, the fading beauty. Her memory comes and goes. She loses time. But the range of human emotions that she displayed could serve as an acting class for the ambitious. Mama Marjorie was disappointed, disappointing, and sometimes sarcastic. Flirty Marjorie was proud, preening, and altogether adorable. And her grief was huge.
As Walter Prime, Latimer Alexander V was appropriately solicitous. Alexander had a couple of really funny takes that he made the most of, but mostly he was called upon to be mild and serviceable, an attractive young man who will entertain and flatter Marjorie.
Devon Edmonson as Tess did the heavy lifting, dramatically speaking. She is so full of anger and disappointment at her childhood that she can’t enjoy the life she is living with a sweet and adoring husband. She has three children, but even the good ones have become distant, and one is out of touch altogether. Tess wanted to be a better mother than hers was, and she’s not sure she’s achieved that.
Edmonson’s performance was restrained. Her deep sadness pervaded every scene. We wanted to shake her and hug her at the same time. That’s most likely how her mother feels.
There was a moment toward the end of the show when Jon, played with great heart and earnestness by Brian Kilpatrick, stood in near-darkness behind Tess who was seated on the sofa wrapped in a blanket. His desperation to save her from herself was as palpable as her overwhelming despair. His whole person fairly trembled with love and frustrations.
This scene and another where Jon is absent asked more questions than they answered. But they are important questions and should be considered.
Kilpatrick’s performance in this scene and the overall direction by Emily Emerson were as powerful as anything I’ve seen in community theatre in some time. Not all questions can be answered. Not all people can be saved.
I’ll let you find out for yourselves how that goes.
Spirit Gum Theatre Company’s production of Marjorie Prime continues at the Mountcastle Forum through September 22.
