In the first few minutes of Pre-Existing Condition—the arresting new 75-minute play by the actor Marin Ireland—the character A (Tatiana Maslany) has encountered a straight-talking, considerate lawyer (Sarah Steele), two group-therapy leaders (Steele and Dael Orlandersmith), and a curt there’s-nothing-I-can-do-for-you attorney (Gregory Connors).
She’s hardly shown any emotion, but something cracks when she sits down for a one-on-one with her therapist (Orlandersmith), who asks, genuinely concerned, “How’s your depression? On a scale of 1 to 10.” A can’t keep herself from laughing—perhaps at the absurdity of the question, or at having to quantify an emotion that she can’t even articulate, or even at the idea that the scale stops at 10. For the record, A settles on 9.
[Read David Finkle’s ★★★★☆ review here.]
Ireland dispenses details in dribs and drabs in snapshot-style scenes, letting information flow in natural, conversational fashion. One lawyer talks about “domestic violence laws” and suggests volunteering at a shelter; A talks with her therapist about “women who got hit by their boyfriends” and confesses that she always thought they were trash: “And the thing is that’s exactly what I felt like. Feel like. Trash. And there are days when I feel like maybe I always was trash and this experience just made me see that finally.”
The themes are familiar, some of the words are even familiar, but they sting nonetheless. “It’s not like you’re the only one who’s ever been hit before,” a woman claiming to be a friend (Steele) says in her defense of A’s ex-boyfriend. The audience gasps audibly, collectively. Moments later, A is on a date and musters the courage to reveal why her most recent relationship ended. “My last boyfriend. Hit me,” she says. Thinking he’s funny or something, her date (Connors) replies, “What did you doooo?” Again, the audience gasps audibly, collectively.
Orlandersmith is the perfect welcoming group leader and sympathetic therapist; Connors—subbing for Greg Keller at this performance—is convincing whether he’s playing a genuine good guy or a first-rate jerk-off, and even as A’s parents—both her oblivious mom and her distanced dad; and Steele shows great range in a handful of chatty roles. She’s especially hilarious as an old friend of A’s who goes on a rant about dating and the ubiquity of “keep it casual” men. (“I love that I made us fail the Bechdel test of this meeting, by the way,” she laughs.)
If you’re familiar with Maslany only from her Emmy-winning multi-character turn in BBC America’s Orphan Black, or on Broadway in Ivo van Hove’s video-powered Network or last season’s eccentric thriller Grey House, it’s a thrill to see her in the intimate black box Connelly Theater Upstairs. Even attendees in the back row will be able to see the tears in her eyes and the clenching of her jaw. She’s an absolute marvel.
Note: Maslany is one of five actors sharing the role of A; she alternates with Julia Chan (Jack Serio’s Uncle Vanya), Tony winner Deirdre O’Connell (Dana H.), Tavi Gevinson (Assassins), and the play’s director, Maria Dizzia. One suspects each of their A’s will be vastly, wonderfully different creations.
Pre-Existing Condition opened June 18, 2024, at the Connelly Theater and runs through Aug. 3. Tickets and information: preexistingconditionplay.com
