Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Amy Herzog’s MARY JANE paints an unflinching portrait of an everyday saint

• By drediman
• October 6, 2017
• No Comments

Liza Colón-Zayas and Carrie Coon in Amy Herzog’s “Mary Jane” at New York Theater Workshop

Last night, I finally caught up with Mary Jane, Amy Herzog’s quietly harrowing new play which recently opened Off-Broadway. I’m an admirer of Ms. Herzog’s past works – which notably include such plays as 4000 Miles and Belleville – which have typically portrayed “regular”, unassuming people at various stages of duress. Mary Jane is stealthier than than the two aforementioned plays; Ms. Herzog’s latest paints a portrait of a woman, Mary Jane, who initially seems to impervious to the considerable setbacks her life has presented her.

You see, this aptly-named Everywoman has put her life on hold to care for her severely handicapped two-year-old son Alex. The severity of this burden, along with the disappointments that have come with it, are slowly revealed by a procession of everyday encounters with seemingly random people in her life. Despite her situation, complaint is the last thing you’ll hear from Mary Jane’s mouth. However, the play nevertheless gives us a subtle sense of impending dread (her son’s condition seems to be erratic, trending for the worse), and the dull frustration caused by her saint-like sacrifice becomes increasingly evident – if unspoken. I partly applaud ever-perceptive director Anne Kauffman for making these subtexts palpable.

In the current New York Theatre Workshop production, the title character is played by the excellent actress Carrie Coon (who has recently made a name for herself on television in such shows as The Leftovers and Fargo) with unflinching detachment. Her Mary Jane is heartbreaking in the suggestion that personal calamity has done the opposite of build character. On the contrary, Ms. Coon daringly portrays a woman quietly being de-humanized by her circumstances, despite her best efforts to consistently do the right thing. The roster of other characters in the play are superbly played by  Colón-Zayas, Danaya Esperanza, Susan Pourfar and Brenda Wehle.

RECOMMENDED

MARY JANE
Off-Broadway, Play
New York Theatre Workshop
1 hour, 35 minutes (without an intermission)
Through October 29