"Marjorie Prime" Is No 'Miss Jean Brodie,' Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         Give me a moment before I get into my discomfort over this play.

                                         This play has an interesting history.  It was done ten years ago, with the divine Lois Smith, then a mere 85, in the title role., and then in 2017 a film was made of it, with Smith again repeating the role of Marjorie.   And awhile back, Cynthia Nixon herself took a turn at 'Miss Jean Brodie,' but it went nowhere.

                                          Now, despite a previous post, Cynthia Nixon may not be the most charming person around, but she is a good actress.  I give her that.  I had the pleasure of seeing her play Miss Birdie in the last revival of "The Little Foxes," with Laura Linney, and let me tell you Cynthia nailed it enough to win a TONY Award.  Birdie was as far from her alleged persona as she could get.

                                            So, the cast is made up entirely of pros.  June Squibb's ability, in her late 90's to remember all the lines and blocking is remarkable.  And eight shows a week!  That's where I want to be, darlings!  Ninety-Six and eight shows a week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                              And yet, despite a well written script by Jordan Harrison, and adept direction by Anne Kauffman, I did not like this play.  Why?

                                               It plays around with the AI concept that if one loses a loved one, a living person can have a robotic replica of said deceased back and engage in conversation.  Now, the idea of death and loss makes me uncomfortable.  First, as a lapsed Catholic, I am afraid of death and Hell.  Second, I always felt that if one could bring back a loved one, it would not be the same.  One of the best moments in the play comes from Danny Burstein--a reliable and fine actor; he should be playing Willy Loman, not Nathan Lane! --who, facing his robotic dead wife, screams out that it is like talking to himself.  And the wife is played by Cynthia Nixon, who is at her shrewish best in one scene, but does fine work in others.

                                                  But honors go to Miss Squibb who plays both a living thing and a robotic replica.  It took me awhile to realize in the moment that she was playing the latter, but I suppose that is another example of this play making me uncomfortable.

                                                  Interestingly, my husband David loved it.  What can I say?  Some may love it, some not.

                                                 As I have posted here, enjoyment of this play depends upon how comfortable one is with the ideas and issues being presented.  As drama, it works well.  As entertainment I am not so sure.

                                                  The matinee audience the day we saw it was packed.  But I am not sure how many of those audience members enjoyed it.