by Jess Hoffman
Harbinger Theater has made a splash in the area by producing Capital Region premiers of fresh, new, unexplored plays. Their latest production, Maggie May (currently playing at Albany Civic Theater) is no exception; it is the United States premier of a play about aging and dementia originally from the UK.
The subject matter of Maggie May–navigating one’s identity, mortality, and family life with slowly worsening dementia–is hardly groundbreaking. In fact, I’ve seen three plays on the topic in as many years. (One of them was The Father, which I reviewed for this publication in January and which starred the talented Gary Maggio, who incidentally also plays a major role in this show.) What sets Maggie May apart from many other shows about dementia and Alzheimer’s is its tone. It’s hard to make a play about Alzheimer’s more funny and hopeful than tragic and heartbreaking, but Maggie May successfully tells an uplifting story about life in the wake of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. While other plays about dementia may have comedic relief to break up their stories of loss and heartbreak, Maggie May feels more like an upbeat family comedy with moments of heartfelt drama to break up the laughs. And for all of the laughs in Maggie May, it still treats its subject matter with the seriousness it deserves.
The play’s protagonist, Maggie, is played with liveliness and humor by Melissa Putterman Hoffman. As Maggie struggles to finish one chapter of a book and tries to hide her amassing post-it notes from her son, she is always delightfully cheeky and quick with a quip. Hoffman’s honest and very funny performance reminds us that people suffering from dementia are, first and foremost, people.
Adding to the comedy in this show is Maggie’s best friend Jo, played by Robin Leary. Jo and Maggie bicker like a frustrated old married couple, while Maggie’s actual husband is more the sort to break into song when Maggie feels down and to refrain from saying “I told you so,” even when it’s warranted. Leary plays an excellent foil to Maggie, as does Gary Maggio in the role of Maggie’s doting husband.
Younger actors Ben Amey and Ashley Schuliger play Maggie’s mercurial son and his Harry-Potter-obsessed girlfriend. Neither Amey nor Schuliger showcase quite as much talent as their older co-stars; though to be fair, Hoffman, Maggio, and Leary set a very high bar. While Ashley Schuliger lacks the finely honed talent to match the other three, her natural charisma shines onstage and makes her a magnetic presence. Schuliger’s stage presence is only enhanced by the brightly colored dress she wears that draws the audience’s eye to her any time she nears the spotlight. Amey, on the other hand, would do well to find more depth in his emotional turmoil and, if nothing else, more consistency in his ever-fluctuating accent.
The production elements in this show are sparse but effective. There are very few props and a bare-bones set, and most of the would-be propwork is pantomimed by the actors. It therefore seems a strange choice to have actors not currently in the scene seated on stools on the stage’s dark sidelines rather than hidden backstage, especially since the characters still make their exits and entrances to and from backstage. Perhaps this is an attempt to blur the lines between the play and its audience, but in this show it hardly seems fitting or necessary.
In contrast to its low-tech set, this production does make use of projections to show Maggie’s various notes to herself. While the use of post-it notes gets a little heavy-handed as the play wears on (not only are they projected on a screen above the actors, but the walls in the background are covered in blank sticky notes) they do a great job of taking the audience into Maggie’s world of constantly needing to remind herself of everyday things. In a much subtler touch, sound designer Joshua Horowitz’s understated music conveys the dread one might feel about a worsening illness as well as the joys of everyday life and love that the play strives to highlight.
And, indeed, Maggie May ends on a joyful note. One might understandably expect a play about Alzheimers to end with death–or, at least, the complete loss of oneself to dementia–but audiences will walk out of Maggie May with a smile on their face and optimism in their hearts. And that is something I certainly did not expect when I sat down to watch this production.
Harbinger Theatre presents Maggie May by Frances Poet at Albany Civic Theater, 235 Second Avenue Albany, NY. Directed by Chris Foster. Runs from September 6-22, 2024. Producer: Patrick White. Stage Manager: Jason LaSusa. Light/Sound board operator: Joshua Horowitz. Cast: Melissa Putterman Hoffman as Maggie, Gary Maggio as Gordon, Robin Leary as Jo, Ben Amey as Michael, Ashley Schuliger as Claire. Lighting by David Caso. Sound design by Joshua Horowitz. Set design by Jennie Sinnott. Specialty props by Laura Darling. Projections by Michael McDermott. Projection technical design by Bob Healey.
Performance dates are Friday-Sunday. Friday, and Saturday curtains are at 7:30pm and Sundays are matinees only at 3pm. Tickets are $18 for general intermission and $10 for students. Runs approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. Contains depictions and discussions of dementia/Alzheimer’s. Recommended for ages 11+. Tickets are available online at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/albanycivictheaterinc/1322144, or at the door for any performance. For more information visit https://www.albanycivictheater.org/ or call 518-462-1297.