Photo credit: Mark Frohna
Marianne studies the stars. Roland harvests honey. Together, this unlikely pair conjures galaxies of possibilities and configurations across love and time in Constellations. All In Productions closes its season at the top of its game, showcasing its multifaceted talent for intimate works (such as Circle Mirror Transformation) that focus on the complexity and vulnerability of our relationships.
Playwright Nick Payne challenges the audience to think about and consider the many possibilities of choices within our actions by replaying the same scene over and over with slight variations. Rather than being repetitive, Constellations skillfully explores how one small change—an inflection here, a change of a word there—can affect the outcome. (The emotional version of Chaos Theory?) And in this two-person production, endless outcomes can exist. Simultaneously.
We find humor and seriousness in these replays, be it when the couple first meets or as they deal with issues of infidelity and mortality. A chance meeting at a rained-out barbecue is funny and awkward as Roland is already in a relationship. Or is he? And when it comes to seeing other people, both Marianne and Roland admit to affairs. It’s less about the actual “one” outcome and more about the choices leading up to one.
Constellations is thought provoking and demanding, particularly for the two actors involved. Both Libby Amato (Marianne) and David Sapiro (Roland) completely engulf us in their characters, showing us different sides while remaining true to their core selves. Roland must often react/respond to Marianne, and Sapiro is right there with her, be it a moment of tenderness or switched up to impending death. They walk an extremely fine line in varying their characters ever so slightly, replay after replay. Yet they do it with finesse and fierceness, a “cool electrical current” always running underneath to spark the emotional tension.
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Director Mitch Weindorf places Constellations in the round, giving this stellar production a sense of floating timelessness while keeping the action grounded in the infinite outcomes. As death looms in one moment, Marianne says, “We have all the time we’ve always had.” Just consider the possibilities.
Through Jan. 20 at the Tenth Street Theatre, 628 N.10th St. For tickets and more information, visit allin-mke.com.
