As part of the ongoing Catalyst Collaboration @ MIT, Underground Railway Theater opens its season with the groundbreaking two-hander play "Constellations" by Nick Payne. What makes this an extraordinary evening at the Central Square Theater is the seamless integration of a multitude of theatrical arts - writing, set design, lighting design, sound design, costume design, directing, acting, and dramaturgy. Director Scott Edmiston has assembled a remarkable team of artists and technical magicians to tell this enigmatic story of love in the multiverse. Susan Zeeman Rogers' Scenic Design is hauntingly beautiful, using lights, mirrors, and angular surfaces to give the two actors a galaxy within which to tell their story/stories. Complementing this set and lighting is Original Music and Sound Design by Dewey Dellay that is otherworldly and mesmerizing. Costume Designer Charles Schoonmaker places the two actors in simple white clothes that drape comfortably, appearing almost sterile and clinical, creating an effect that is a virtual tabula rasa - a blank slate upon which the actors can limn the various shades of their characters. Amelia Broome provides important dialect coaching, and Sabrina Dennis provides ASL consulting that adds an important dimension to the storytelling late in the play.
Marianna Bassham and Nael Nacer take this sandbox full of raw materials and craft it into a magical world that contains Marianne and Roland and an infinite universe of possibilities of choices made - or not made. For in this play, playwright Nick Payne explores the intersection of science - cosmology, quantum physics, relativity, string theory, alternate levels of reality - with the intimate realm of love. The confluence of these forces makes for an unforgettable night of theater.
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| Nael Nacer as Roland Marianna Bassham as Marianne "Constellations" by Nick Payne A Catalyst Collaborative @ MIT Production Central Square Theater Through October 8th |
Marianne is a cosmologist whose world view includes the belief that physics seems to be discovering that we inhabit a multiverse where several lives, several persons, several sets of decisions can simultaneously exist alongside one another. To show this mystery, Mr. Payne has the actors repeat scenes three or four or more times, each time with slight alterations in emphasis, word choice, affect. This is not traditional linear storytelling, and it takes a while to get into the rhythm, but it is an effective theatrical device. This device also requires that the actors be of consummate skill in making quick changes that are believable to the audience. Ms. Bassham and Mr. Nacer are simply brilliant, reinforcing their already stellar reputations as among the best actors working in Greater Boston.
In contradistinction to Marianne's work that encompasses limitless possibilities, Roland works as a beekeeper. There are only three kinds of bees in his hive - in his limited universe - worker bees, drones, and the queen bee. The contrast between their worlds is stunning and leads to dramatic tension.
Changes in mood, in alternate levels of reality, are signaled beautifully by dramatic alterations in the lighting scheme and in the soundscape. The effect is a play that causes the audience to work hard to figure out what is happening. Will a chance meeting lead to a date or not? Will Marianne and Roland develop a deep relationship? Will they marry? What will be the results of a biopsy? Will it be necessary to consider assisted suicide? To be or not to be? To bee or not to bee? Or all of the above?
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Marianna Bassham as Marianne
Nael Nacer as Roland
"Constellations" by Nick Payne
A Catalyst Collaborative @ MIT Production
Central Square Theater
Through October 8th
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One cannot ask much more from an evening at the theater that what is offered by the infinite possibilities contained within "Constellations." You do not want to miss seeing this production. It will run until October 8th with a fascinating assortment of post-show talkbacks. Knowledgeable theater people will be talking about this production and these performances for years to come - in this and in alternate realities. Make sure that you can be an informed part of those conversations by ordering your tickets now.
Central Square Theater Website
Enjoy!
Al
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