Quietly disquieting, spare and at times delicious in its ambiguity, Jordan Harrison’s subtle sci-fi play Marjorie Prime is anything but uninteresting.
It’s one to mull over afterwards, thinking about its themes of loss and mortality, and the inherent tragedies of family. Now running through March 29 on the Monroe Stage at 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa, this is a play well worth one’s time.
Set in the near future and focused primarily on how humans replace their deceased loved ones with “Primes”—that is, holographic AI models of said loved ones—the story feels easily believable. Indeed, the sci-fi nods aren’t sensationalized; they are simply part of everyday life.
Director John Browning has a nice cast at work here. Actually, there are two: the “Saffron” cast (featuring Laura Jorgensen, Marty Pistone, Bronwen Shears and Amir Ghazi Moradi) and the “Seasons” cast, which includes a fantastic David L. Yen (does he ever miss?) as Jon and a deeply touching Tamar Cohn as Marjorie. Bohn Connor, as Marjorie’s Prime husband, Walter, is both kindly and a bit unsettling in his non-human mannerisms. Mary Samson, as the conflicted Tess, is a standout as well, and has a strong stage presence. In fact, all the cast members are very nuanced and grounded.
They float about the beautifully appointed set by Laurynn Malilay, often lounging on the floor and drinking tea, while sharing family stories (or their perceptions of stories) with Marjorie and her Prime, so that the 85-year-old dying woman won’t lose her precious memories. It’s sad and poignant, and Cohn is so moving that one wants to give her a hug. Her smallest mannerisms and sounds are wrenching, but Marjorie is a force of nature despite her diminishing state.
There are some pleasant surprises (for me at least; I’m never one to quickly guess the twists), and the play unfolds breathlessly until the finale, where silence takes hold and settles over the audience in a delightfully satisfying way that definitely doesn’t neatly tie up anything. I adore that the fraying edges of humanity, and the messiness of human relationships, are given their due in this play. It’s what makes live theater so very remarkable too, as we see the audience grappling with their questions in real time.
I hope many conversations were had on the journey home, because Marjorie Prime offers plenty of fodder for discussion.
‘Marjorie Prime’ runs through March 29 on the Monroe Stage at 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. 6th Street, Santa Rosa. Thurs-Sat, 7:30pm; Sat & Sun, 2pm. $27–$48. 707.523.4185. 6thstreetplayhouse.com.
