In theater parlance — and perhaps obviously — a “two-hander” is a play featuring a pair of actors. For pragmatic and financial reasons, many theaters gravitate to such plays, but that’s not to take anything away from their impact. Falcon Theater in Newport recently staged A Girl in a School Uniform (Walks Into a Bar) by Lulu Raczka, featuring two female actors in a tense story about a missing person. Here’s a link to my Talkin’ Broadway review ().
If you’re enticed by such intimate and demanding material — two-handers often keep both actors onstage for the entire performance — you have two options at the moment on local stages. The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is presenting Mary’s Wedding by Stephen Massicotte on its Shelterhouse stage, and Know Theatre has Nick Payne’s Constellations on its intimate upstairs performance space. Both have strong casts.
Mary’s Wedding is a dream story about a 1918 romance in Canada and England overshadowed by the “Great War.” Just two actors, Aaron Schilling as farmer and horseman Charlie and Britian Seibert as Mary, a Londoner transplanted to Canada, portray a young pair who met and romanced before he went off to be in a British horse cavalry during World War II. He writes letters to her about his experiences during the horrific combat in France; Seibert takes on an additional role as Charlie’s mentor and commanding officer. Imaginatively staged by the Playhouse’s artistic director Blake Robison, this show is romantic and ultimately uplifting, despite a twist that creeps up about her imminent wedding when she wakes up from her dream. This lovely play was staged previously in Cincinnati by Ensemble Theatre, back in 2008. It’s well worth a second offering. Currently onstage through March 6. My Talkin’ Broadway review is here.
Constellations is another love story, but this one is fragmented into multiple short scenes that explore the numerous possibilities of an unfolding relationship. Caitlin McWethy plays Marianne, a loquacious quantum physicist at Cambridge, and Phineas Clark is Roland, is an introverted beekeeper. Her studies of quantum physics (such as string theory and multiverses) shape the play’s narrative, an exploration of infinite variations. The 70-minute piece, smartly staged by Bridget Leak, Know’s artistic director, is comprised of short scenes and blackouts, offering multiple mind-bending views of how their relationship might unfold, for better or worse. It’s fascinating and relatable, thanks to McWethy and Clark’s acting performances, turning on a dime from comic and breathless to serious and tragic. This one has a short run — wrapping up on Sunday, Feb. 22. Make the effort to see it. My Talkin’ Broadway review is here.
PHOTOS BY MIKKI SCHAFFNER