DIRECTOR
PLAYWRIGHT
THE MAI
BY MARINA CARR
MILWAUKEE REP
DIRECTOR'S NOTES
The Mai is a haunting, beautiful play. Poised in a kind of indelible dream, a young woman looks back on her parents’ attempt to rekindle their failed marriage. She revisits the funny, strange and painful events of those two years. She re-meets her colorful aunts, great aunts and great-grandmother. And through her eyes we see her family’s lineage of illusions, handed down from the past, shadowing the future.
Much of what makes this play remarkable is its musicality. The language, the cello and the variations of themes played out through different characters, all come together like a densely textured song; one moment achingly lyrical and the next fiercely down to earth.
But the soul of The Mai is its unflinching intimacy, a sense of presence that transcends the darkness. It’s a voice of human longing. A longing for legends and lost passions, for childhood dreams untouched by disillusionment.
REVIEWS
“… the Milwaukee Repertory Theater is becoming one of the premier outposts of Irish theater. One need look no further than the Rep's recent main stage production of The Mai and its current Stiemke Theater staging of Molly Sweeney. Both productions have been directed by Rep artistic associate Ed Morgan, and they define the plays with a clarity, sensitivity and emotional truth that would make their authors proud.”
– Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Director Edward Morgan has seized upon that sensuality, sensuality we see, and hear, in the onstage playing of cellist Paul Gmeinder. It is also present in Norment’s mature femininity, Andrew May’s smoky portrayal of the Mai’s wayward husband and Robert Jared’s evocative lighting design.”
– Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Director Edward Morgan, aided by scenic designer Vicki Smith and composer Eric Segnitz, provide many enhancements. They complement Carr’s glowing, sometimes subtle use of colorful language that lifts the dialogue above what otherwise might seem like just another soap opera.”
– Shepherd Express
Lights: Bob Jared
Costumes: Dawna Gregory
Set: Vickie Smith
Sound: Douglas Hillard
Composer: Eric Segnitz
Dialect: Bernadette Quigley
Cello (live & recorded): Paul Gmeinder
