Mary Page Marlowe begins previews

[sppunk]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 8:20pm

2nd Stage’s production of Tracy Letts’ Mary Page Marlowe starts previews tonight (June 19). We have tickets for mid July and am eager to hear any feedback from those who have seen this version of the play.

 

[kmissa]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 8:24pm

I got tickets for Sunday and I will report back.

[kevinr]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 10:04pm

I am seeing this in July.  I am a fan of a few of the performers so am hoping to get a signature/photo at the stage door.  Would like to hear about anyone's stage door experience after the show.  Thanks!

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 6/20/18 at 4:33pm

Having seen the show in its Steppenwolf incarnation (and in previews- when it still used an actual baby for a particular scene rather than a doll), I'm eager to hear how it may have changed/thoughts on this production.

[Damiensta]

Posted: 6/23/18 at 9:18pm

Went to matinee today.
90 min or so
No intermission
Play was interesting. Almost all actresses were pretty good. Specially Blair Brown , who was a stand out.
The least successful one was the one that played her in her 50’s Kellie Overbey.
The rest of actresses felt like the same character at diff age. Kellie just felt like different person

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 6/23/18 at 9:50pm

I saw it in Chicago- about three years ago- Blair Brown was the star- she was excellent- but the play was a bit disjointed- and I did not feel as though the message of the play was powerful enough- or deep enough- to justify a full scale production.

[kmissa]

Posted: 6/25/18 at 10:37am

BWAY Baby2 said: "I saw it in Chicago- about three years ago- Blair Brown was the star- she was excellent- but the play was a bit disjointed- and I did not feel as though the message of the play was powerful enough- or deep enough- to justify a full scale production."

I saw it yesterday, and I agree. I didn't read the play, but I wasn't sure what the message was. I still thought it was enjoyable, but nothing I would recommend anyone run out and see.

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 6/25/18 at 12:08pm

That about sums up my thoughts from when I saw it back at Steppenwolf. I had wondered if Letts made any changes to get things a bit more cohesive, but it doesn't sound like it.

[BellaB2]

Posted: 6/25/18 at 1:47pm

kmissa said: "BWAY Baby2 said: "I saw it in Chicago- about three years ago- Blair Brown was the star- she was excellent- but the play was a bit disjointed- and I did not feel as though the message of the play was powerful enough- or deep enough- to justify a full scale production."

I saw it yesterday, and I agree. I didn't read the play, but I wasn't sure what the message was. I still thought it was enjoyable, but nothing I would recommend anyone run out and see."

I saw it on Saturday night and I feel the same way..

[NJGUY]

Posted: 6/29/18 at 3:57pm

Saw this last night.  Glad I saw it, though definitely not a must see.  Enjoyed much of the acting and the dialogue.  Story did not have a lot to say and there was no real message.   As most people know (this is not a spoiler), the same part is played by six actresses.  Blair Brown was great and being an Orphan Black fan, enjoyed seeing Tatiana Maslany on stage.  Two points to note: Cast of 18 with no doubling of roles, which is huge for a 90 minute play, since there were never more than three actors on stage at once.  Other note, the Second Stage is getting a little shabby. They could use some donation money to fix up the seats, the steps and the toilets.  Considering how many award-winning shows have originated there, it is unfortunate that this aging venue is not being cared for as well as it could be.

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 4:37pm

I'm going to miss this, and I'm a 2ST subscriber, so if anyone is interested, I will switch the ticket in your name for any performance I can for $40 (face is $70). Message me. Seat location would depend on availability based on when you want to go.

Updated On: 7/9/18 at 04:37 PM

[cglaid]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 7:46pm

Can someone please explain the final scene for me? I saw it on Saturday and left a bit confused. Feel free to throw it in spoiler tags or PM me off board if need be. Thank you!

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 10:20pm

The ending is bizarre.

[wolfwriter]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 10:55pm

Saw this tonight and it's like a first or second draft with no reason to exist. I was really looking forward to it, but the writing is lazy, the set design is odd, the acting is wildly uneven & it looks like the director didn't show up for work.

Some scenes work okay, but many are just excuses for exposition and there is a lot of exposition made to look like it's not.

I didn't care about anyone onstage except the son who wasn't on stage. I didn't dislike Mary Page but I didn't have a reason to root for or against her. It all made 90 minutes feel long and uninvolving.

I didn't understand the final scene, either and I didn't understand the point Tracy Letts was trying to make with this play.

[AntV]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 11:18pm

No one mentioned Tatiana Maslany is topless briefly. Though you can only see it if you're seated house right. Wish someone had mentioned that earlier, would at least been one reason worth having seen this.

If you're a fan of any of the actresses none except for Blair Brown really get much dialogue or character development to showcase their skills. Just wait for the next play their in.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 11:57pm

I didn’t notice any toplessness tonight.

The acting, direction, and writing were extremely uneven. One scene in particular borders on camp. I didn’t care for this play.

[wolfwriter]

Posted: 7/10/18 at 12:04am

TotallyEffed said: "I didn’t notice any toplessness tonight.

Neither did I. She hooked her bra in the dark, but there was no toplessness that I saw.

The acting, direction, and writing were extremely uneven. One scene in particular borders on camp. I didn’t care for this play."

If you mean the scene with her hand bandaged, it was laughably bad.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/10/18 at 12:47am

It was hilarious. I almost burst out laughing a few times during that scene. When she started yelling my friend and I almost lost it. I felt bad for her scene partner, who did the best he could.

[AntV]

Posted: 7/10/18 at 2:43am

wolfwriter said: "TotallyEffed said: "I didn’t notice any toplessness tonight.

Neither did I. She hooked her bra in the dark, but there was no toplessness that I saw.

Hmm, is her bra already half on the whole time she gets rolled out? I was front house left and just saw her bare back. Could've sworn her bra started in her hand but maybe not, it was quick.

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 7/10/18 at 5:49pm

So, they've changed the staging of that scene since the Steppenwolf production (there, Carrie Coon got out of bed fully nude and dressed during the scene). 

[little_sally]

Posted: 7/13/18 at 11:55am

I thought this was fine, certainly not my favorite Tracy Letts play (and I'm a big fan.) I really don't  understand what the point was. I don't think anyone is really fantastic but Susan Parfour was my favorite of the Mary Pages.

I will say they could've gotten away with double casting most of the other roles and I thought the set was just downright ugly. It looked like a tanning salon bed/pool/conveyor belt.

Updated On: 7/13/18 at 11:55 AM

[nypinta]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 1:46pm

I saw it with a friend this past weekend. We saw 3 plays in 2 days, and this was the third. I'll echo what others had said, the stage setting was strange and the final scene left us confused and I kept thinking perhaps I missed something from earlier in the play about who the guy she was talking to was. 

*SPOILERS*

 

I realize why they did certain things, such as the need for so many actresses to play the title character was so they could pull off the vignette at the end with them all on stage while the final Mary Page Marlowe was speaking. I had to actually look up the final scene and one critic described it as the quilt was a metaphor for her life, all of the previous versions of her a "panel" in the quilt, etc. But seeing as they never mentioned any quilt before it just seemed to drop in out of the sky. And the stage is split into two levels but that too was for the final scene, but during the play, there really isn't any rhyme or reason why one scene is on the lower level while another is on the top level. The only scene where the split level makes sense is when her parents are on "the porch" while she is upstairs in her crib. 

I can't really put my finger on why but the play really just felt unfinished. 

[PianoMann]

Posted: 8/3/18 at 12:06am

I saw Mary Page Marlowe last weekend and am very glad I did. I agree that this one does not come close to rivaling Tracy Letts' best plays, but nevertheless I found it engaging, especially with this troupe of actors.  I do want to address the final scene:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

I agree with the critic nypinta mentions who interprets the quilt as a fairly meta- reference to the form of the play itself, as well as the obvious connection between the one antinomian figure depicted on the quilt and Mary Page herself.  I found the final line of the show more resonant, though, with her turning down the clerk's assistance and telling him, "I've got it," a nice encapsulation of how Mary Page lived her entire life: independent, for better or worse, with nobody to truly rely on but herself.  I didn't think the ending played well in the house, though, as people seemed confused that the play ended on that moment.  I think that might be more of a problem with the direction of the scene, because I think if I had read that final line on the page it would've landed with much more heft than it did on stage.

Tracy watched the entire performance from the rear of the theater, so I'm wondering if he's still tinkering it for this 2ST run, which would be unusual given it closes in a few weeks, or if the play might have another production in the nearby future.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 8/3/18 at 12:10am

Am I the only one who thought he was hitting on her at the end?

??

[PianoMann]

Posted: 8/3/18 at 12:21am

I felt that way, too, especially as the scene was ending! Another reason I thought the direction of that scene in particular fell short of Letts' vision.