Tracy Letts, whom we could simply describe as a top-flight actor if it weren’t for the fact that he is also the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of August: Osage County, is a decidedly intriguing writer. In Mary Page Marlowe, which opened tonight at Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theater, he has determined to delineate a 70-year swath of the life of his title character by splitting the role among six actors and fracturing time by incessantly leaping from age to age, with no fewer than 18 card-carrying Equity members on stage. All in 90 minutes.
Intriguing, yes. Ambitious, yes. But coherent? Unfortunately, not. The multiple Marys flash by so quickly that we absorb very little; in some cases, we-the-audience might not even identify which of the dozen women on stage is the Mary-of-the-moment until the author has someone say to her, Hey, Mary Page.
We do eventually begin to piece together the narrative. The poor gal hails from the very lowest depths of Dayton, Ohio, and hers is not an uplifting tale. That is, the latter stages are mighty depressing; I can’t say that I recognized the sensible Mary Pages of teen and college years in the older-and-unwiser characters who share the name. Which might be the central problem of the enterprise, one that is accentuated by the leapfrogging calendar.
Mary Page comes from a broken family. (Her 1946 self is represented by a mewling 10-month old, in crib; here that’s represented by a prop baby, but we are told that they used an actual infant in the 2016 premiere production of the play at Steppenwolf.) Mary eventually follows the paths of her wildly alcoholic mother and wildly philandering father; although after 70 years, three marriages and a period of incarceration, she winds up as sweet, grandmotherly Blair Brown.
Yes, Blair Brown, the Tony-winning actress who after a long absence is making her third New York stage appearance in ten months (over the course of which she has considerably brightened On the Shore of the Wide World, The Parisian Woman and the new Letts play). Brown seems to be consistently excellent, nowadays, and is most welcome. She is also the one and only holdover from the Chicago production, which had a thoroughly different creative staff as well.
Of Mary’s other selves, most of the hard work is done by Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) at ages 27 and 36, and Susan Pourfar (Mary Jane) at 40 and 44. Kellie Overbey has a single-but-searing scene as the heroine at 50. Standing out among the rest are Brian Kerwin (as the only decent man Mary runs across), Grace Gummer (as young Mary’s young mother) and Elliot Villar (as an ingratiating dry cleaner).
If the chronicle doesn’t quite come together, it’s not for lack of direction. Lila Neugebauer (The Wolves, At Home at the Zoo) keeps things moving at Letts’ rapid pace, juggling scenes and actors as necessary. We have grown tired of hailing Neugebauer as an up-and-coming new director, so let us henceforth acknowledge her as a consistently reliable professional.
Far be it from me to ask for more three and four-hour plays. But in Mary Page Marlowe, Letts seems to be attempting to write an August: Osage County-sized yarn on a single pad of yellow paper. The results are swift, yes; but we expect the playwright’s intriguing notion would be better served if he gave the story and his many Marys more space to breathe.
Mary Page Marlowe opened July 12, 2018 at the Tony Kiser Theater and runs through August 19. Tickets and information: 2st.com
