Marys Seacole
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Cititour.com Review
A less ambitious playwright than Jackie Sibblies Drury might have been content to present us with a straightforward history play about one Mary Seacole, a shockingly unsung (to us) black heroine of the 19th century who not only catered to the physical and emotional well-beings of the residents (white and otherwise) of her native Jamaica, as well as making her mark doing the same to the soldiers in the Crimean War. And audiences would have been satisfied.
But Drury, who is making her own mark in theater with such provocative works as “Fairview,” isn’t one for easy solutions. Just take a look at her audacious, sometimes overstuffed and often humorous “Marys Seacole,” now debuting at LCT3’s Claire Tow Theater. While sharing with us the history of real-life Mary, Drury forces us to examine the racism, classism, and expectations placed upon women – often by other women – that sadly haven’t changed much since the mid-1800s. Audiences willing to go along with the play (which can be confusing at times) should not only leave more than satisfied, but forced to re-examine their own behavior.
Drury’s vehicle to impart her still-timely lessons is through the perspective of Mary, although whether it’s the same one we first meet (somehow time-traveling) or other Mary Seacoles through the years is slightly unclear. No matter, it’s inspiring to watch a woman whose self-confidence is almost unnerving – even when her hauteur can admittedly be off-putting – and whose dedication is to the greater good is never in doubt. It also helps immeasurably that she (they?) are portrayed by the always-spectacular Quincy Tyler Bernstine in a commanding performance that anchors this 100-minute fantasia.
Whether she’s on the Crimean battlefield nonchalantly facing the put-downs of Florence Nightingale, as a nursing home attendant dealing with a elderly patient’s demanding mother, as a hospital nurse trying to get both some cooperation from a group of incompetent actors, or a nanny ignoring the hysterical (if understandable) ramblings of a tired, terrified new mother, every Mary seems fully grounded even in the worst of circumstances, something the white people around her can’t always manage. (It’s only fitting that one of her costume changes is set to the R&B classic “I’m Every Woman.”)
In fact, the only time her façade crumbles is when the real Mary Seacole is confronted (perhaps in a dream) by her imperious mother (an incredibly powerful Karen Kandel), a woman whom she has long resented for sending her to live with a rich white woman as child even while grudgingly accepting that her mother’s decision paved the way for Mary’s success in a white person’s world.
Cleverly, the various white people in every scenario are all played by three excellent actresses, Lucy Taylor, Ismenia Mendes and Marceline Hugot, each of whom differentiate their characters slightly, yet keep their same core personality in each scene. The same goes for the equally fine Gabby Beans as another Jamaican woman, one who always ends up being subservient to a demanding and often harshly judgmental Mary.
The show also benefits from an excellent physical production, from Mariana Sanchez’s Pepto-Bismol pink, multi-purpose unit set (which eventually becomes far less sterile than it first appears) to Kaye Voyce’s stunning array of costumes to Jiyoun Chang’s extremely effective lighting. Equally important, director Lileana Blain-Cruz juggles the play’s often disparate tones with aplomb, a not-inconsiderable accomplishment.
Intriguingly, the real Mary Seacole announces from the get-go that her story will be told in two acts, and I wonder if that was the original plan. Instead the so-called “Act II” (there is no intermission) is less than a half-hour long, and while those 30 minutes pack a punch, the ending feels a little abrupt. Indeed, in a play where more is clearly meant to be more, I’m not sure less was the right answer. >>
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
https://www.lct.org/shows/marys-seacole
Cast
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Gabby Beans, Marceline Hugot, Karen Kandel, Ismenia Mendes, Lucy Taylor
Open/Close Dates
Opening 2/9/2019
Closing 4/7/2019
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Claire Tow Theater
150 West 65 Street
New York, NY 10023
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