Playwright Amy Herzog has been through at least some of the traumatic experiences that unfold in her 2017 drama “Mary Jane.”
She depicts them with precise, naturalistic dialogue in The Actors’ Reading Collective production onstage at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco through Nov. 30. It’s sensitively directed by Amy Kussow with a strong cast, most of whom play multiple roles.
Mary Jane’s 2 ½-year-old son Alex was born prematurely and is given to seizures and more.
“We have reason to believe he has a lot going on upstairs,” says his hopeful mother to another mother who is also facing a similar situation with her newborn.
Mary Jane, who lives in Queens, is single and taking time off work to care for her son. She’s on the edge emotionally, exhausted, suffering from migraines, continually dealing with hospitals and medical staff to the point of fury and frustration.
We feel for her, especially since the play is so beautifully directed, and because Lisa Morse as Mary Jane, and the rest of this cast, are superb.
Yet Herzog’s play falls flat, nevertheless.
The first act is a series of encounters between Mary Jane and others who pass in and out of her life: her helpful building superintendent (Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, convincing as a New Yorker), an empathetic but firm medical aide (a down-to-earth Stacy Ross), the other mother in a similar situation (Danielle Levin), the medical aide’s niece (a palpably awkward and uneasy Anna Takayo).
But by the end of the first act, you might be starting to wonder if there is a plot—a conflict, a puzzle that needs solving, important interpersonal tension—to shape and sustain the story into the second act.
Unfortunately, Herzog has not provided one. Still, the second act, set entirely in the hospital, does ratchet up the intensity. Little Alex is in the hospital, and Mary Jane must try to communicate with doctors and nurses fulltime
In one particularly funny and touching scene, the music therapist that Mary Jane has requested (Takayo) shows up in Alex’s hospital room but at exactly the wrong moment.
In a more sober scene between Mary Jane and Alex’s doctor (Ross), a lot about the sad details of Alex’s condition is revealed.
And another scene toward the end, in which a quiet Buddhist nun (Mbele-Mbong) comes to offer solace, is poignant.
But structurally, and content-wise, the 90-minute play simply does not have the necessary dramatic momentum that a realistic play requires.
(Personal note: My stepdaughter faced a similar, traumatic situation with her newborn son. Yet “Mary Jane” still failed to involve me emotionally.)
It is surely harder for a playwright to write a good play than for an actor to turn in an authentic performance. The ARC team—a group of actors that came together during the pandemic to do staged readings and have since veered into occasional full performances—is simply terrific. We should all be looking forward to their next venture.
Actors’ Reading Collective’s “Mary Jane” continues through Nov. 30 at the Magic Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco. Tickets are $20.50 to $100 at arcstream.org.
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