Thursday, September 14, 2017

Mary Jane

A-


No, it has nothing to do with marijuana. I’m not sure why Amy Herzog (4000 Miles, Belleville) chose that name for her title character, but anyone expecting her new play at New York Theatre Workshop to be a cannabis-related story will be disappointed. Everyone else should be stirred by this compassionate portrait of a young woman who must deal every day with one of life’s great tragedies, caring for a child who has been severely impaired since his premature birth. Alex, now two, cannot speak, hold his head up or eat solid food. His father could not deal with it and left. Fortunately the audience is spared the grief of seeing Alex. What we do see is several moments in the life of Mary Jane (a superb Carrie Coon; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, "The Leftovers") during which she interacts with various women: her super, Ruthie (Brenda Wehle; The Crucible); her conscientious visiting nurse Sherry (Liza Colon-Zayas; Between Riverside and Crazy); Brianne (Susan Pourfar; Tribes), the mother of a newly diagnosed child who turns to Mary Jane for advice about what to expect; Sherry’s college-age niece Amelia (Danaya Esperanza); Dr. Toros (Colon-Zayas again), Alex’s physician; Chaya (Pourfar), a Hasidic mother of seven; Kat (Esperanza), a music therapist; and Tenkei (Wehle), a Buddhist nun. Herzog captures the heroic nature of Mary Jane’s daily struggle without placing her on a pedestal. Coon’s naturalistic portrayal is immensely powerful. The other actors are strong as well. There are flashes of humor, but one does not expect a happy ending. The low-key final scene initially disappointed me, but, on further reflection, I decided that its tentativeness supported the play’s honesty. Laura Jellinek’s realistic set design of a cluttered apartment in Queens converts effortlessly to another completely different setting. Emily Rebholz’s costumes look appropriately lived-in. Anne Kauffman (Belleville, Marjorie Prime, Detroit, The Nether) directs with her usual skill. It was a heartbreaking, but also uplifting experience. Running time: one hour 40 minutes; no intermission.

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