By Tulis McCall
I am a big fan of Tracy Letts. I was stunned by August: Osage County. The story was layered and challenging. Letts’ range is vast and the paths that he chooses are not the beaten ones. His work as an actor is masterful. With Mary Page Marlowe, however, he has left me in the dust. I have no idea what was intended or why an audience was included in on the proceedings.
None. Zero. Zip.
I have read the various blurbs, and I know that this is intended to be an overview of the life of Mary Page Marlowe from weeks after her arrival in 1946 to the ripe old age of 69. Over the course of those seven decades she was married three times, had two children and did some time in prison. That last bit was for drunk driving. My telling you this is not a spoiler alert because there is no one thing, no one incident from which you need to be kept. And that is kind of the problem.
The story begins with Mary (Susan Pourfar) age 40, explaining to her children that a divorce is in the works, and the three of them will be locating to Louisville which, for all intents and purposes, is presented as being on the very edge of n-o-w-h-e-r-e. As opposed to Dayton, the location of their present home. So right off the bat we know that Mary Page Marlow is not Pollyanna. Life has pot-holes. Check.
As we move through the other unremarkable moments in her life, we discover that there are quite a few unsatisfying moments, starting with her parent’s marriage. Later we see Mary as a teenager (Mia Sinclair Jenness) and revisit her mother Roberta (Grace Gummer) who has become skilled at the art of damning with faint praise. Life at college places Mary (Emma Geer) squarely in the era of women going to college to get their “MRS” Degree. But this is not for Mary. She wants something more. We never find out what that is, but it appears she doesn’t get it.
MARY PAGE MARLOWE; Grace Gummer and Mia Sinclair; Photo by Joan Marcus
Sleeping with her boss proves to be a mistake for Mary (Tatiana Maslany) which we realize in retrospect as we try to put the pieces together later on. We see the kitchen scene aftermath of the drunk driving incident when Mary (Kelly Overbey) is 50 and headed for the clink. An existential midlife crisis brings Mary (Tatiana Maslany), age 36, to a Shrink (Marcia Debonis). This scene, although long, feels like it is the exact center of this piece. Mary tells the shrink
The truth is you and I pretend I make decisions about the direction of my life. I don’t. I haven’t. I didn’t decide on any of it. All of it happened to me, and I went along with it, and I, I… I never affected anything, I never altered the course. Like some bird. Like a migrating bird. I just did what seemed natural.
There was a noticeable groan in the audience as many of us recognized that feeling. But we are not off the hook. Mary goes on to say that she is unexceptional. Finally, she admits that because she is a woman life offered specific choices: wife, mother etc. The deck was already stacked. The result? I am not the person I am. I’m just acting….
Another groan.
Who does not know that feeling?
When nuggets like this are fed to us by the teaspoon, the difference between them and the rest of the writing is noticeable. Each scene in this play (and the scenes are not chronological) brings with it one or two little pilot lights that stay with you. They do not, however, connect to one another. Nor do they ever accumulate into a fire. They never have the chance. We are pulled from one time and space to another, and just as something begins to simmer, the scene ends and the next begins. With each new scene we have to start all over again. Who is THIS Mary? Where does she fit in to the narrative? Right about the time that we find the dots, the scene ends. Again and again and again. The dots float away, untethered.
Mary Page Marlowe is meant to be an intriguing person. Instead, she remains closed to us. We are never let in. If we are not let in, we do not connect. If we do not connect, we do not care. If we do not care, an opportunity has been tossed out the window. And that, my friends, is the ultimate disappointment for an audience.
The good news is that if you made it this far, and if you saw August Osage County, and if you can tell me what scene used olives as a prop – I will buy you a drink. Martini? Manhattan? Long Island Iced Tea? You name it.
Mary Page Marlowe by Tracy Letts, Directed by Lila Neugebauer
WITH: David Aaron Baker, Blair Brown, Kayli Carter, Audrey Corsa, Marcia Debonis, Nick Dillenburg, Ryan Foust, Tess Frazer, Emma Geer, Grace Gummer, Mia Sinclair Jenness, Brian Kerwin, Tatiana Maslany, Kellie Overbey, Susan Pourfar, Maria Elena Ramirez, Elliot Villar, Gary Wilmes
Scenic Design Laura Jellinex, Costume Design Kaye Voyce, Lighting Design Tyler Micoleau.
