Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Simon Stephens’ deceptively straightforward HEISENBERG is anything but

• By drediman
• October 19, 2016
• No Comments

Mary-Louise Parker and Denis Arndt in “Heisenberg” at the Friedman Theatre

When I first saw Simon Stephens’ two hander Heisenberg a little more than a year ago (also produced by Manhattan Theatre Club in one of its Off-Broadway spaces at City Center), I marveled at the severe simplicity and expansiveness of Mr. Stephens’ play and director Mark Brokaw’s direction. I was reminded of Peter Brooks’ work in a lot of ways and was caught off guard by how much the production’s subtle shifts and insights into life moved me, in large part due to its sensational cast of two.

That effectively claustrophobic production has now found itself on MTC’s much, much larger Broadway stage, and I’m happy to report that I marveled at whole thing all over again. The play takes its name from physicist Werner Heisenberg (he’s not mentioned once in the play, thankfully) and the uncertainty principal that drives the logic – or the lack thereof – of the play. You see, beneath the straightforward much-older-boy-meets-girl premise, Mr. Stephens at less than 90 minutes manages to make profound statements about life, how it unfolds, and the relationships we form. Contrary to what you may think, correlating life to the uncertainty principal doesn’t make living life any less romantic or remarkable. Mr. Stephens’ play suggests that life and the world is exponentially more wondrous, and yes, intrinsically unpredictable, than our day-to-day lives would suggest.

Both Mary-Louise Parker and Denis Arndt have made the transfer to the Great White Way, and both are even more astonishing than I remember. There’s palpable chemistry in the air, and the messy dance they perform over the course of the play is compulsively watchable theater. Ms. Parker, as the volatile yet irresistible Georgie, has never been better, delivering an exposed, shape-shifting performance that you can’t take your eyes off of. As her foil, Alex, Mr. Arndt is Ms. Parker’s equal, matching her step-by-step in his own quietly determined way. Against all odds, Mr. Brokaw’s production has retained the intimacy and sharpness that made the earlier Off-Broadway incarnation so penetrating.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

HEISENBERG
Broadway, Play
Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
1 hour, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
Through December 11