Theatrius
  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us
  • Search Icon

Theatrius

Theater Reviews—San Francisco and Beyond

“Marjorie Prime”—Memories Come Alive, but May Not Be True, at MTC

“Marjorie Prime”—Memories Come Alive, but May Not Be True, at MTC

May 11, 2018 Pamela Feinsilber

Jordan Harrison’s Poignant Questions Take High-Tech Form

by Pamela Feinsilber

Jordan Harrison’s 2015 Pulitzer-finalist play “Marjorie Prime” opens with a living room conversation between Marjorie, in her ancient, tattered armchair, and Walter, on a sleek, narrow sofa. Although Marjorie is in her eighties and Walter is about 30, it’s soon apparent that they are looking back on their marriage.

Walter is a Prime, a computer-generated holographic being who exists to learn and then share Marjorie’s memories with her. Since Marjorie is losing her mental abilities along with the physical ones, her daughter, Tess, and son-in-law, Jon, have brought Walter in to provide companionship and keep her engaged, in touch with the landmarks of her life.

Tommy Gorrebeeck (Walter) and Joy Carlin (Marjorie). Photos by Kevin Berne

Walter comments that Marjorie was the most beautiful woman in their town. “It was a small town,” he adds humorously, “but you were its queen.” A continuing theme is the European tennis player, “eighth in the world,” who pursued her even after she chose Walter.

Julie Eccles (Tess) and Anthony Fusco (Jon)

Walter, of course, doesn’t “remember” anything—he can only take in, store, play and replay bits of data. Tess is having second thoughts about having Walter in their lives at all. For her, memories are human truths, not data points that can be revised or deleted. She feels they are just humoring or “pacifying” her mother with this charming but vacant being. (Since Marjorie has chosen to see Walter at the age she fell in love with him, Tess can’t really view “it” as her father.)

Her warm-hearted husband disagrees; in fact, he considers it an act of kindness to tell Walter—and thus Marjorie—that her early suitor was a high-ranking French tennis pro, not the American shlub with a small business that he was. Then there are the deeply painful events that no one ever talks about. Tess has her own complicated memories, unaddressed feelings, and complex relationships, not least (of course) with her mother. We come to feel she wants Marjorie to recall things that actually occurred, not the rosy, edited version, so that the two can, maybe, discuss and resolve them.

Joy Carlin and Julie Eccles

So, the play raises interesting questions about the value and accuracy of memories, who gets to alter or repress them, how much of that we do unconsciously (perhaps in a healthy way), and the role they play in our relations with others. In a high-tech, futuristic context, “Marjorie Prime” deals with the most basic human emotions.

Thankfully, the realistic staging and acting avoids science-fiction tropes and approaches. The pleasure lies in accepting the premise and following where it leads—which won’t be disclosed here—and then thinking about it afterwards. There was no need to set the play so obviously in 2062, which we learn, if we can do the math, when we hear that Marjorie was born in 1977 and is now 85. Her reference ZZ Top is a cringeworthy, if brief, distraction. (So was trying to do the math.)

Tommy Gorrebeeck and Joy Carlin

And if it’s so far in the future, Tess would not feel she needs to explain, “Science fiction is here, Jonathan.”

The play isn’t particularly subtle, but the story is consistently interesting as it slowly unfolds, and there is no need to hammer any points home. I much prefer a scene like one that came and went in a few seconds, when Jon comes in to find Tess sitting alone, opens his mouth to say something, changes his mind, and the stage goes black.

All four performers inhabit their roles wonderfully well. Joy Carlin is a delight to watch as she muddles through her failing memories and lights up whenever she recalls something (or thinks she does). Julie Eccles, in some ways the heart of the play, is an off-putting, harsh, yet (come to find) suffering Tess; she looks like a different person when she’s not unhappy. As Jon, Anthony Fusco adeptly conveys a man who has his own complex feelings, especially in a powerful later scene. Joining the three veteran actors is Tommy Gorrebeeck, excellent in the difficult job of seeming human but not.

The runs of MTC productions tend to be extended, but scheduling constraints mean that this one will not. So, if you want to see this production of “Marjorie Prime”—and you should—take note that it ends in less than three weeks.

Julie Eccles and Anthony Fusco

“Marjorie Prime” by Jordan Harrison, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll, at Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley, through Sunday, May 27, 2018. Info: marintheatre.org

Cast: Joy Carlin, Julie Eccles, Anthony Fusco, and Tommy Gorrebeeck.

You may also enjoy: “A Number” at Aurora Theatre, Berkeley


Plays
clones, death, holograms, husbands, loss, love, memories, memory loss, mothers, The Future, the past, wives

Post navigation

NEXT
Mary Volmer
PREVIOUS
“All the Shah’s Men” Highlights CIA Conspiracy in Iran Coup, at Arabian Shakes, S.F.
Comments are closed.

Menu

  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us

BLM

Black Lives Matter

Subscribe for upcoming reviews!
Loading

Current Shows

  • “Private” Tears A Marriage Wide Open—at SFBATCO
  • “Dry Powder” Spotlights Wall Street Power-Brokers—at Left Edge
  • “Pride and Prejudice, The Musical” Enchants with Sass & Satire—at Ross Valley
  • “Clue” Melds Mystery & Comedy into Entertaining Adventure—at SF Playhouse
  • “Donna”: Intimate Interviews Celebrate Trans Triumphs—On Screen
  • “Fannie”: Sixties Spirituals Pave Path to Freedom—at TheatreWorks
  • “’Tasha” Tackles Raw Racism—at 3Girls
  • “Tea Party” Brews Up a Cup of America—at The Strand
  • “A Raisin in the Sun” Explodes with Drama and Power—at 6th Street
  • “Cambodian Rock Band” Deserves Its Standing Ovation—at Berkeley Rep
  • “Cambodian Rock Band” Mixes Nostalgic Hits with Terror—at Berkeley Rep
  • “Fun Home” Seduces with Strong Songs & Sultry Sass—at Berkeley Playhouse
  • “Anything Goes”: It’s Delightful, It’s Delicious, It’s De-lovely—at 42nd Street Moon
  • “SIX, The Musical” Celebrates Women’s Freedom & Individuality—at BroadwaySF
  • “Fun Home” Bursts with Love & Feeling—at Berkeley Playhouse

About us:

If you want to see the best plays & performances around the San Francisco Bay or beyond, read our reviews. We promise to give you a true report on the best shows.
Bay Area Critics Circle

Barry David Horwitz, Editor of Theatrius, is a Voting Member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle, SFBATCC. Follow us on: facebook.com

© 2023   All Rights Reserved.