Marjorie Prime

Marjorie Prime

Playwrights Horizons

December 19, 2015

Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

Is virtual reality a mere reflection of projected thoughts, or does it have a life separate and individual from those programming it?  This is a question that arises from experiencing Jordan Harrison’s Marjorie Prime at Playwrights Horizons.  The play is skillfully crafted and seamlessly directed to blur the lines between these realms.  The cast draws you deeply into their world and intimately connects you to their hopes and fears.

Tess (played by Lisa Emery) and Jon (played by Stephen Root) set up their aging mother, Marjorie (played by Lois Smith), with a prime of her deceased husband (played by Noah Bean).  The purpose for this is two-fold: first, to keep her company and second, to keep her memories alive.  A prime is a computer generated image in the likeness of a specific person.  This prime can interact as this individual when programmed with information about your relationship and details of your shared experiences.  Since perception frames most involvements, the truth of these interactions becomes questionable.  This is why Tess is skeptical of the effect these conversations have on her mother.  Jon is certain of the benefit they offer, since he sees improvement in Marjorie’s outlook.  He later understands Tess’s concerns when he has a need to develop a personal relationship with a prime.

Lisa Emery, Lois Smith, & Noah Bean
Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

This play is all about relationship, and director Anne Kauffman has brought these four actors to a place where their interactions are truthful and sincere.  Lois Smith is superb as Marjorie.  She portrays the numerous layers of this aging character with strength, conviction, and detail.  Lisa Emery elicits great emotion and compassion as a woman who yearns for connection with her mother in order to resolve her deepest struggles.  Stephen Root’s character is continually warm, caring, and empathetic.  The chemistry between him and Ms. Emery is natural and dynamic.  Noah Bean emits a grounded calm that makes you understand why every character in the play willingly opens up and graciously reveals themselves to him. 

Stephen Root, Lois Smith, & Lisa Emery
Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

Jordan Harrison's writing proves that a skilled playwright can lead you on a journey almost anywhere.  His dialogue is full of dramatic action that keeps you riveted.  The final scene of the play takes a stunning turn.  Can life’s most complex challenges be virtually resolved by merely combining streams of logic to given facts?  Marjorie Prime is extended at Playwrights Horizons until January 24.  See it and understand the depth and value of Marjorie’s simple statement, “How nice that we could love somebody.”

Domenick Danza