Young Critics

Girl and boy fall in love. Boy goes to war. Girl waits patiently at home, waiting for her soldier. That is the typical story at least, that we’ve all seen a thousand times before. This was also the story I was expecting as I walked into Delaware Theatre Company on a Friday night. Was it “that kind” of story? Somewhat. Was I as bored as I thought I would be? Definitely not!   In fact, I found myself, and the audience, being sucked into the dream world of Delaware Theatre Company’s production of Mary’s Wedding. The story of a couple’s first love set against the backdrop of World War I painted in brilliant artistic and theatrical inventiveness.

Mary’s Wedding could be perceived as having the predictable story line of a war time love story but that possibility is ingeniously avoided by the twisting sequences of the scenes. In Mary’s Wedding, scenes are not in chronological order. The play begins several years after the couple first meet. As the play progresses, the actors could be playing a scene in which the two are coordinating a secret rendezvous and then, in a matter of minutes, those same actors would be in the trenches of Europe several months ahead in time. It may sound confusing but this method’s real affect is captivation. I had to stay on my toes to comprehend the series of events in the larger scheme of the play. As each scene unfolded, ones acted previously began to take on new meaning. This method of slowly revealing the story in a series of vignettes proves affective in keeping the audience thinking.

Because of the different sequential order of the plot, the actors were expected to go through a wide range of emotions with few “natural” transitions in between. Every range of emotion, however, was executed perfectly. Both Stafford Clark-Price and Erin Moon create undeniably charismatic characters as Charlie and Mary. Their chemistry is undeniable but also understandable considering that they are a real life married couple. Erin Moon is completely genuine in her portrayal of the star-crossed emotions of an adolescent girl to the realities of a woman, to the brisk demeanor of a military officer. While Clark-Price’s performance may not be as immediately gratifying, his character and abilities eventually won me over in a few outstandingly poignant moments.

The set, designed by Beowulf Boritt, was completely covered in tones of pristine white, giving the impression of a surreal dream world, calm, and untainted. However, this pristine set of a large, white washed barn side and a plastered white floor and hills does not remain unchanged for long. As the play progresses, our backdrop is lit with a fantastic cascade of spring greens, deep blues, and red bursts. This splendid array is all orchestrated by lighting designer Tyler Micoleau. Mary’s Wedding is an excellent example of how a unique set and creative lighting, when combined together, can create a tantalizing artistic quality to a production