(9/6): MARY JANE

Photograph by Sara Krulwich / NYT via Redux

Curated by Brad Mercier, our next play will be Amy Herzog's "Mary Jane" (2017) which we'll discuss on Sun, Sept 6, 2020 at 8PM EDT on Zoom. We'll also be hosting a Play Reading on Tues, Sept 1, 2020 at 7PM EDT on Zoom. Look below for more details and links.

PLAY DESCRIPTION:

Armed with medicines, feeding tubes, and various medical equipment, Mary Jane is a single mother and indefatigable force when it comes to caring for her young, sick child. A moving play about the stalwart endurance of a devoted mother, Mary Jane demonstrates the prevailing strength of the human will when fueled by unconditional love.

CURATOR'S THOUGHTS:

“After the prickly familial relations of “A Doll’s House (Part II),” I was interested in choosing a play that highlights the ability of strangers to come together as a unit to help each other get through seemingly insurmountable obstacles, something I believe a lot of us are experiencing at this moment in time. This is a show that celebrates radical kindness in unexpected moments, and the delicacy of love. It balances heavy situations with fine humor and honest characters, and a structure that gets looser and more surreal as it concludes. I think there’s a lot to discuss with the quality of Herzog’s writing and structure, the themes of enlightenment & religion, sainthood, compassion, and women’s roles as caregivers in society and this play in particular.”

LINKS:

• SCRIPT
• (9/6) ZOOM
  
• PLAY READING
  
• EVENT PAGE 
  
• GROUP PAGE
  

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:

INTERVIEWS:

PART 1 with Yale Repertory Cast

PART 2 with Yale Repertory Cast

Interview with Amy Herzog by New York Theatre Workshop

REVIEWS:

The New Yorker: “‘Mary Jane’ is Herzog’s most satisfying work to date because it has verisimilitude that many contemporary realistic plays don’t: it’s truthful because the story and situations are truthful...Like [Thornton] Wilder, Herzog has made theatre that shines from her characters’ inner life first.

Theatermania: “On the surface, Herzog is probing the idea of what it means to be a caregiver. But on a deeper level, ‘Mary Jane’ is about one woman's journey to a particular kind of enlightenment, specifically the knowledge that when the most unfathomable thing happens, we have no other choice but to soldier on as best we can.