Magdalene
Chester Theatre Company. Chester, Mass.
By Mark St. Germain.
Directed by Keira Naughton
“People don’t give sheep enough credit.”
Mark St. Germain has written a play about two of Jesus’s disciples who never got along meeting once again eighteen years after the crucifixion: Peter, not yet the rock of the church, and Mary Magdalene. They meet when he appears at her door after searching for her throughout the world of their day. Why he has searched for her is at the base of the play, but what occurs between them during the play is the meat of the issue. The show takes place on a marvelous set designed by Juliana von Haubrich of whom I am a fan. I am also a fan of St. Germain’s work and I always expect fascinating dialogue and differing points of view in his plays. When he deals with real people I have always anticipated reality exploited for dramatic effect. He has always drawn his characters with that sense of human issues played out for all to see. In this instance, as the opening play of Chester Theatre’s season with two good actors and a fine director leading the march to actual experience, the play falls short of its lofty goal. Too many things feel wrong here and the drama is less dramatic then the situation demands. Instead, after a fine beginning in which the two people tell us who they are and how they actually feel about one another, this drama turns into a psychological chat about realities known and unknown. It is at times a fascinating exercise but it is not yet a play. Ultimately Peter is allowed to sleep in Magdalene’s barn: a happy ending but an ending to nothing really.
I heard a reading of this play last year and the reading was cleaner and better than this edition of the play. It may be that the subject is hard to realize in a sufficient manner. References to Mary’s relationship with the prophet make sense historically for the man Jesus was. Other things do not fall easily on our ears and eyes. The final sequences with Magdalene alone again made more sense in the earlier version of the play than they do here. Ultimately it isn’t clear that Peter has been able to resolve any of his issues with her before his morning departure. The play needs tightening and a renewed view if it is going to succeed fully and I believe it is worthwhile to keep working on the play. When a work begins with the strength of this one but then sizzles out for no obvious reason it must be dealt with by its creator. There is obviously good drama in this situation but the author hasn’t allowed it to dominate his play.
The cast is excellent. Danielle Skaarstad has the dramatic chops to make Magdalene a winner and she shows this often in the play. She has the bearing of a queen, a saint, a martyr to truth and she uses these qualities majestically. Her Mary Magdalene exists on the Chester stage, not just as a role but as a person. Adam LeFevre is not afraid to exhibit resolved weakness as Peter. We see and hear Peter’s regrets at his actions and choices and we feel what he feels about the way he treated his Master, Jesus. Though Peter understands that he played out Jesus’s own scenario it has been hard for him to live with that. LeFevre gives excellent voice to this dichotomy in Peter. As good as both these actors are, the script keeps them from completely moving us with their openness about themselves.
Director Keira Naughton, herself an excellent actress, keeps the play active and alive with her staging. She may not be strong enough, or perhaps was restricted by time, to move the author through his work and help him to improve it. What starts so dramatically and ends so very impressionistically is fine under her guidance, but the middle of the play still needs work.
The costumes by Charles Schoonmaker are interesting, though not perfectly in period it seemed to me. The lighting designed by Lara Dubin moved us through the day of this awkward meeting. James McNamara’s sound design pushed early morning a bit too hard I thought and it didn’t match the sense of time of day expressed in the script.
This is an interesting work that still needs work to make it a perfect piece, but audience reactions may help. If you’d like to be a part of the process of creation this is an excellent opportunity. And you certainly won’t be disappointed in the work of these two fine actors.
Magdalene plays at the Chester Theatre in the Chester Town Hall through June 29. For information and tickets go to their website at chestertheatre.org.
