Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Rachel McAdams is luminous in the Broadway edition of Amy Herzog’s quietly harrowing play MARY JANE

• By drediman
• May 9, 2024
• No Comments

This week, I was able to catch up with the Broadway edition of Mary Jane by Amy Herzog. Presented by Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater, the deeply human play now stars screen star Rachel McAdams, who is making her much anticipated Broadway debut (the play was originally mounted Off-Broadway at New York Theater Workshop in a well-received production starring the terrific Carrie Coon). In short, the play chronicles the trials and tribulations of a young-ish mother — the titular Mary Jane — who attempts to stay afloat (emotionally, financially) while caring around the clock for her severely debilitated two-year-old son Alex (who smartly stays out of the audience’s sight throughout the play).

Perhaps a more apt title for Herzog’s play would be “Saint Mary Jane”. Indeed, over the course of its ninety-plus intermission-less minutes, the playwright paints a quietly harrowing portrait of an astonishingly upbeat woman, who encounters Job-like setbacks — some subtle, some not quite so subtle — at every turn. By the conclusion of the play, our heroine finds herself at her wits end. As her anxiety finally starts to take over, your heart simoly breaks for her. Because Mary Jane is a delicate work that finds its core strength in quieter, less overtly charged moments, I was a bit concerned about how it would come across in a larger Broadway-sized house. Thankfully, Herzog’s play can withstand such a change, it’s existential musings blooming gracefully in the larger playing space (it’s been a banner year for Herzog, who is also represented on Broadway this season by her well-judged adaptation of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People starring Jeremy Strong).

Just coming off of The Leftovers during the play’s Off-Broadway run, Coon (determined, steely) seemed tailor-made for the role of a woman defiantly fighting for the life of her son and her own sanity. On Broadway, McAdams brings a different energy — no less captivating — to the title role. Her Mary Jane is luminous and a mellower presence, which makes the character’s heartbreak that much more devastating. McAdams is supported by a wonderful all-woman cast, including the likes of the great April Matthis. In their various portrayals, we get glimpses of the very best of humanity. Director Anne Kauffman returns to stage the play for MTC, expanding her sensitive, clear-eyed production to fill out the expanse of the Friedman proscenium.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MARY JANE
Broadway, Play
Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
1 hour, 40 minutes (without an intermission)
Through June 16