“Mary’s Wedding”: A love story which will continue to last through the ages

Relayed against the turbulent milieu of the First World War, the production Mary’s Wedding, held at the Delaware Theatre Company through March 16, managed to charge the emotions of an audience compiled of people of all ages. The combination of appropriately intense and enveloping acting, the efficient use of stage lights, and the constant call for imagination merged to create a haunting story that will forever remain etched in the minds of all who view it. 

 Written by Canadian playwright, screenwriter, and actor Stephen Massicotte, the play is a two character, one act, 90-minute production which focuses on the love of a young woman recently moved to Canada from England, and a local farm boy. Actor Stafford Clark-Price portrays the role of the farm boy Charlie, while actress Erin Moon serves as both the young British girl Mary, as well as an army sergeant by the name of Sergeant Flowerdew. The production begins with Charlie relaying the reality of the play as simply a dream of Mary’s the night before her wedding. A sincere actor, he immediately captivates the audience with his words and phrases, and successfully manages to effortlessly transition them into the first scene.
 
Delaware Theatre Company’s producing artistic director Anne Marie Cammarato, executed superb stage directions and with the help of her stage crew, the details were in perfect order. No specificity, no matter how small, was forgotten, as was evident, for instance, through the unique use of lighting throughout the entire production. Due to the talent of light designer, Tyler Micoleau, the stage lighting of each scene perfectly reflected the words and the moods emanating from the actors, ranging from soft and warm to harsh and striking. As a whole, the precision that was evident in the lighting techniques supplied the necessary emotional dimension to each element of the play. Sound designer Fabian Obispo also produced incredibly effective sound techniques. The piercing sounds of thunder and lightning, as well as bombshells and aircraft during the war scenes, seemed to reverberate throughout the entire room and also managed to establish a connection between the audience and the actors.

There were very few props in the play, though not many were necessary. The clothing apparel of the actors remained generally the same and no excursions backstage were necessary for either actor. In fact, Mary remained in a nightgown throughout the entire production, perhaps as a reaffirmation that the play was indeed simply a dream.

The stage itself was very indicative of the time. Lined with shoots of grass and pebbles, while the rest was covered in a dusty substance representative of the conditions of a dirty road, it provided an old-time, new-world atmosphere in the theatre.

In totality, actors Stafford Clark-Price and Erin Moon performed one of the most believable productions centered around two young lovers that I have ever seen. The acting was absolutely superb, and I found myself completely drawn into and captivated by each word that came out of their mouths. It was evident that the audience around me shared similar emotions. They laughed, gasped, and clapped precisely on cue, proving that they were as completely engrossed as I. The facial expressions, body language, and movements of the actors were precise, yet performed as though completely spontaneously. Their chemistry was undeniable and proved to make them a dynamic duo. I applaud Moon’s capacity to play the double role of a sweet English girl and an army sergeant, and her transition between the roles was impeccable. After a time, it became as though, although Charlie was away in the war, his friendship with Flowerdew became an extension of his budding relationship with Mary

However, though the acting was superb, this is not to say that the play was without its faults. For instance, it became evident early on that horses would serve as some type of component of the play. Yet, the issue evolved around the fact that the horses would have to be imaginary due to evident limiting circumstances. Though imagination was necessary in trying to fill in the gaps within Charlie and Mary’s romance at times due to their separation, I personally found it neither amusing nor beneficial to the play as a whole to create such stress on an imaginary creature. Though I am sure that a real horse would have been a complete distraction in itself and therefore also would not have been beneficial, the insubstantiality of the animal disturbed me. I felt as though the actors were seeing and riding something that I could not visibly see, and it led to a sense of detachment from the production.

I also found the non-sequential order of the play to be confusing and ultimately frustrating. Though the play is, in essence, simply a dream, the shifts between Charlie’s time spent with Mary and his time spent with Sgt. Flowerdew, combined with the fact that the years were constantly fast-forwarding and rewinding around each other, sometimes made it difficult to follow exactly what happened and when, calling for a considerable amount of guesswork from the audience. Although it kept the audience “on their toes” so to speak, perhaps if it had been performed in sequential order, it would have seemed more logical and easier to follow. Though dreams are sometimes choppy, I do believe that portrayed chronologically, the play still would have made sense. I cannot imagine why Massicotte structured it in such a way, and maybe for others it added to the dream mentality, but personally I found that the order of the scenes added unnecessary confusion at times and drew away from what actually occurred in the production.

Adding to the mayhem of the chronological avoidance, were the various asides to the audience from the actors disclosing that some things in the play really occurred while others did not. This forced the audience to remain constantly aware of the fact that although the scene may be touching, it never really took place, and therefore becomes of less importance.

Overall, Mary’s Wedding was a satisfactorily touching love story made even more effective by the wonderful performance of the actors. I cannot commend them enough on their deliverance of their roles and believe that they truly carried the production to make it everything that it was. Their relationship represents that of so many that actually occurred during the time of the war, and adequately captures the heartache of being torn from the one that you love.

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