Magnetic North

Last night I went to the Portland Stage Company and saw a (free!) play. The play is called Magnetic North by one William Donnely and follows four people as they discuss what it means to be in love.

Of course there is more than that. But I think when boiled down, that's the heart of it. And that heart is really solid. Before I get much further, I want to point out that I don't particularly like stage acting and I don't have much training in dissecting plays. I'm going to try it anyway.

The writing is sharp. The characters are all distinctive and the humor (you will laugh, methinks, unless you're an insufferable curmudgeon) comes out in genuine and endearing ways. Magnetic North (almost) never feels like a real conversation. But when you go to a play, you don't want to see that. This is witty and intelligent stuff. If you want to see real people talk, hang out with your friends and let them carry the conversation for a bit. If you want to see how you wish you talked, go see a play. This play.

The plot is simple. Simple is often good and sometimes great. I'm not sure this is great, but it's better than good. A married couple - James and Leigh - has hit a snag in their relationship and the husband happens upon a significant ex-girlfriend - Mara - from his youth. James has a work buddy, Emmet, who bears witness to James and Leigh's turmoil. They use him as a confessional. Emmet is the audience, but he gets to participate. He is also the strongest character in the show. He's unique and funny and honest. Quincy somethingorother, the actor who portrayed him, did a masterful job.

Mara is a vibrant and vivacious (can that word be used non-ironically?) 30 something ex-lover of James. She plays the part well. She's persuasive and seductive and attractive and a little bit hurt. Daniella... somethingorother (no relation) does a wonderful job. I never questioned her role but never celebrated it, either. That might be a defect of the character who's driving for a rupture in James' marriage and not a portrayal issue. The jury's still out on that one.

Leigh is the beautifully wounded wife of James. She's had a miscarriage and is still picking up the pieces. Jesse Whats'erface only sufficed in acting the part for a while for me. Then she delivered this monologue about her initial encounter with James. About falling in love with him. It was the sweetest thing I have seen on stage and one of my favorite monologues of all time. From that moment on, Leigh was all right with me and Jesse was more than redeemed. It's one of those moments where you realize how cool love can be.

James, played by Tom... um... Tom, was the weak link for me. He seems like a charming enough guy but he's nonresponsive. Or he responds to stimuli that's not there. I understand he's a drama teacher or something from NYU so he might've had a snobbish attitude about this role way up in Little Ol' Maine. But if that's the case, what's he doing up here? He was more or less sufficient for my tastes, though.

The stagecraft was pretty cool, too. A giant lazy susan was built on top of the stage and used to rotate the sets. There's a spartan living room, a barebones bar and an office copy room. They spin hither and yon, as rooms are wont to do. The ladies pretty much stay in their worlds. Domestic Leigh at home with the Jane Goodall documentaries and Mara (except for one quick jaunt to the street outside her apartment) remains at the bar with the wine and tunes. It's an engaging and clever way to break up the scenes and there is an interesting scene of interwoven dialogue that plays off the openness of the set.

The play resolves in the way you'd expect. There's no let down or surprises for students of structure. Well, there are pleasant surprises. You root for the right people and you still care about the wrong ones.

All in all, I'm for it. If you're feeling rich and looking for a quick thrill, the play's only an hour and a quarter and you'll laugh and you'll get lost in it. You might even find your heart is drawn to magnetic north even though it's easier to see geographic north.