The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Amid suffering and support, ‘Mary Jane’ shines
Watching Amy Herzog’s quietly compelling and uncompromising “Mary Jane,” which opened Friday in its world premiere at Yale Repertory Theatre, one appreciates that, over the series of several scenes, the title character’s life doesn’t change, yet something’s always going on.
Mary Jane, channeled masterfully by Emily Donahoe, is a single mom devoted solely to her chronically ill, very young son. Once apparently happily married and on the cusp of a career teaching math to middle school students, she now serves her son during what seems like a day without end. The ritualistic changing of nurses’ shifts, rounds of meds and personal attention the toddler requires mark time’s passing, but Mary Jane is physically, mentally and emotionally confined to her very limited and trying universe.
The woman never complains. She utters nary of word of selfpity. Indeed, she endures cheerfully rather than feel victimized by Job’s harshly relentless Old Testament God, or perceive herself as a waif-like Lillian Gish crashing down a cascading river on an icy perch toward certain disaster at the whim of the cruel Fates.
She’ll have none of it. Herzog’s protagonist willingly chooses to remain at her son’s side. She could’ve abandoned him like his father did. Rather, she’s deferred her personal dreams to serve her sense of duty, love and devotion in serving her helpless child.
“Mary Jane,” which continues through May 20 under Anne Kauffman’s exquisitely invisible direction, is a study in unconditional love and endurance. Sure, one could list other themes, as Herzog’s play teems with food for thought, much of it subtextual, however brief its running time (105 minutes with intermission). So how does any human, how-
ever patient or saintly, endure the infinite strain and the never-ending worries over a loved one’s incessant battle against death? How does one retain sanity, to say nothing of grace, amid the myriad feeding tubes, medicines, procedures and seizures that fill a caregiver’s endless day?
Herzog mercifully keeps some person, some woman, within earshot of Mary Jane to offer aid, medical expertise or just to share a soda in relative calm. This de facto support group consists of medical professionals, neighbors and mothers in the same boat, and if Mary Jane could not count on these wise and compassionate women, she would surely sink.
There is much beauty in Herzog’s new work, most apparent in the two-character scenes that occupy the entirety of the play. We first see Mary Jane in her kitchen making conversation with Ruthie (Kathleen Chalfant, her usual godsend), the building’s superintendent and stalwart friend. Next Mary Jane chats up Sherry (an indefatigably spirited Shona Tucker), a damned good nurse who unobtrusively anticipates and meets not only her patient’s every need, but also that of his mother.
Brianne (an impeccable Miriam Silverman) appears next across the kitchen table from Mary Jane, who also has a child in a similar condition to Mary Jane’s, and obviously in need of guidance. She couldn’t have asked for a more helpful mom, as Mary Jane comforts Brianne and restores some hope that she too can survive her battle against long odds.
On it goes. The women pair off and tag team against each crisis as it appears, often with whack-amole frequency. And just when one thinks that this character, this unbreakable mom, is inhumanly perfect in every way, Mary Jane springs a leak of frustration, fatigue and pain. This wonderfully human moment, in front of a flummoxed but compassionate musical therapist (Vella Lovell, spot on) comes at just the right time for the audience and character alike, as both need a release lest the Rep explode with tension and drown unsuspecting pedestrians on Chapel Street.
Herzog proves in control of her craft throughout, most notably in how she seamlessly progresses from a naturalistic tone to a more impressionistic, if not surrealistic, feel by the time “Mary Jane” stops. The other touchstone is her dialogue. As evident in “Belleville” and “4,000 Miles,” Herzog has always possessed a gifted ear. Here more than ever her dialogue offers insight into each character by what is not said. This subtext, or verbal shorthand, communicates deep understanding between like minds and acutely empathetic friends. Furthermore, the play does, indeed, stop rather than end. To end the play would be less than honest and slight Mary Jane’s whole being.
Yale’s production is a pip. Noteworthy beyond aforementioned praise for the actors is the skill with which all of the actors — save Donahoe — double up, playing a different character in each of the play’s two acts. Kauffman’s design team — particularly Laura Jellinek’s inventive set design and Elizabeth Green’s perfectly atmospheric lighting design — lend a poetic touch to Herzog’s naturalistic world.
In “Mary Jane,” Yale Rep concludes its 50th-anniversary season on a high note. Herzog’s rich play fills theatergoers with enough ideas to carry over to next season.