Tony Award and two-time Olivier Award winning playwright Simon Stephens makes his Mark Taper debut to complete its 50th Season with HEISENBERG, a sharply original play direct from Broadway featuring 2017 Tony®-nominated Best Actor Denis Arndt (The Night Alive, Basic Instinct) and Tony and Emmy® winner Mary-Louise Parker (Proof, Weeds). Stephens captures every emotion and the many possibilities that accompany new and old love, hope and fear, and reality versus fantasy using the simplest of tales – boy meets girl.
The play begins amidst the bustle of a crowded London train station when Georgie spots Alex, a much older man, and plants a kiss on his neck. This electric encounter thrusts these two strangers into a fascinating and life-changing game where the truth is often told so believingly yet turns out to be filled with enough falsehoods to jeopardize any chance of a future for these two lonely people to be together. And when the real reason is revealed why Georgie, with all her crazy behavior, flirts and pursues the intrigued Alex, the stage is set for a classic battle of the sexes where you will hope everything works out for the best – however impossible that outcome seems to be.
Directed by Drama Desk Award winner Mark Brokaw (The Lyons, How I Learned to Drive), brings to blazing, theatrical life the uncertain and often comical sparring match that is human connection. The duo’s back-and-forth banter is delivered practically non-stop with Parker and Arndt never missing a beat. Parker is a wonder to behold as she spins stories to capture the attention a man who she hopes will help her achieve her greatest dream, which requires Georgie to travel to New Jersey, a journey way beyond her means. Alex is a London butcher whose shop is suffering from a lack of patrons, and at 75 years of age, he is ready for a change. But when the whirlwind that is Georgie blows into his life and sets him on a course he never imagined, will he be open to the much-younger woman’s pursuit?
I did overhear some rumblings from older, female audience members who felt the dialogue and story seemed a bit farfetched given the vast age and personality differences between Georgie and Alex. But I could only think to tell them that relationships between people of vast age differences happen more often than they may think nowadays, often proving opposites really do attract.
The creative team for “Heisenberg” includes Mark Wendland (scenic design), Michael Krass (costume design), Austin R. Smith (lighting design) and David Van Tieghem (sound design). Modifying the Taper by placing a long and narrow stage in the center with seating on both sides, the entire set includes just two chairs, two tables, and two actors onstage during the entire production. Scene breaks are noted by the ringing of a bell and lighting change during which time the actors move the set pieces around to suggest the next location where the duo meet while getting to know each other. Costume changes are appropriately minimal, allowing your focus to remain on the characters and not what they are wearing.
It’s the type of story many dream about happening for themselves someday, falling in love when you least expect it. And, as you watch it happen in the most unexpected yet believable way thanks to the skill of Arndt and Parker, ultimately this tale of a mismatched pair will leave you filled with hope that there really is someone for everyone in this crazy world of ours, so never give up looking.
And in case you are wondering about the play’s title, most likely it is in reference to Werner Heisenberg whose uncertainty principle helped redefine physics, although there is no reference to him in the play. But after all, in love everything is uncertain, especially when polar opposites seem to be unable to resist each other.
Tickets for “Heisenberg” range from $25-$95 and are available by calling (213) 628-2772, online at CenterTheatreGroup.org, or at the Center Theatre Group Box Office. The Mark Taper Forum is located at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012.