I FEEL YA, OPHELIA
Acclaimed playwright, director, and actor Stefan Marks has outdone himself taking on three roles in his World Premiere play Ophelia, now at the Odyssey Theatre through May 18. It’s a tale of family history, the journey to find love, the heartbreak of dementia, struggling to forgive yourself for past mistakes, and learning to move on despite the trials and tribulations faced every day that are seemingly out of your own control.
The play begins with Mom (the luminous Deborah Geffner) and her recently divorced, middle-aged Son (Marks, who is surprising taller than he appears onstage) who has moved back in with her to assist in both their transitions, sorting through Mom’s “boxes of memories” to decide which items she will take with her into a long-term memory care facility, keep in the attic, or simply throw away. As they open each box, strange items are revealed, including a “Reset Globe” that can shift the action through time and space. And in doing so, we learn about their family history which, to say the least, is shocking at times.
As the process proceeds, Mom keeps reminding her Son that he MUST find an appropriately aged female, get married and procreate as soon as possible to ensure the family lineage will continue. But there are blotches in their history which might prevent the Son from wanting to do just that, And given how his ex-wife left him after terminating a pregnancy and then transitioning to male-identifying, perhaps having a child is not in the cards for him.
But then, unexpectedly, the Son meets Her (Tatum Langton), an overly emotional, dreamlike woman who just might be the “one.” As the two literally dance their way around each other, with Mom pushing them together as much as she can, secrets get revealed that may doom their budding relationship. But the two are so likeable and well suited for each other, you can’t help but root for them.
As the boxes of Mom’s memories are removed from the stage sequentially, five painted-on-the-floor letters are revealed below each stack which, for anagram fans, can only spell Words or Sword – both of which speak to the issues Marks addresses throughout Ophelia. “The pen is mightier than the sword” comes to mind first, reminding us that words can usually succeed far better than violence – something the Son wishes his Mom might have done during a domestic dispute with her husband involving a baseball bat and gun.
But perhaps the quote which immediately came into my mind is from Miyamoto Musashi’s The Book of Five Rings: “It is said that the warrior’s way is the twofold Way of pen and sword, and he should have a taste for both Ways.” And as each of the three characters dance around getting what they want (often quite literally), we are reminded that ill-spoken words can act as a sword through the heart, with many of those situations occurring during revelations, confrontations, and dreams during Ophelia.
And what better way to present your own World Premiere play than to direct and star in it yourself? Stefan Marks’ heartfelt performance, along with his effective staging all the necessary emotional outbursts and reconciliations, will pull you into the story while wondering WHAT might happen next. And when? And will each find their own true destiny amid their quest to fix “a broken life”?
Ophelia includes lighting design by technical director Mark Svastics, with basic white “could-be-anywhere” set design by Marks and Svastics which includes the brilliantly selected and placed letters revealed so provocatively under 5 stacks of boxes, and costume design by Paula Higgins which often includes Mom appearing in pajamas and robe until the more dreamlike sequences take hold – and everything changes.
photos by Baranduin Briggs
Ophelia
Null Set Productions
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd in West L.A.
Thurs-Sat at 8; Sat at 3
95 minutes – no intermission
ends on May 25, 2024
for tickets ($35–$45), call 310.477.2055 x2 or visit Stefan Marks or Odyssey
