BWW Reviews: GOODBYE MARILYN: A LOVE LETTER Explores Her Marriage Memories During Her Final Moments

GOODBYE MARILYN: A LOVE LETTER explores the last night of Marilyn Monroe's life. Essentially, the world premiere play written and directed by Michael Phillips, is a love letter to Marilyn, attempting to show her not as a celebrity, but as a person dealing with scattered memories from her life as the pills and booze overwhelm her senses just prior to her final moments on Earth.

Phillips shares, "We attempt to see beyond the celebrity and try and capture Marilyn Monroe's humanity. But essentially, this is a love letter to Marilyn who, 52 years after her death, still captivates."

The short play, which runs about 70 minutes with an intermission, focuses on Marilyn (luminous KaLinda Gray) in her bed center stage dressed only in a satin robe, consuming pills and booze while speaking with two of her former husbands, renown author Arthur Miller (Chris Karmiol) and fireball Joe DiMaggio (John E. Hunt), obviously figments of her imagination - memories from her past flooding her senses as her life is about to end. These two husbands represent the two sides of Marilyn, her intense physicality and her innate intelligence.

While many of the tales told are familiar to fans, there are lovely moments of wonder such as the flirtatious first meeting between Marilyn and Miller, each overwhelmed with emotion yet doing their best to act like adults in front of others at an industry party. Gray and Karmiol have a palpable chemistry and their moments together create an aura of realism, allowing us to see how they challenged each other to better themselves while they were together. Lovingly calling each other Artie and Kitten, their heartfelt performances will lead you to believe that had their son lived, this marriage would have lasted and given Marilyn the life she always wanted - to be a loving wife and mother.

And then there is her volatile relationship with Joe DiMaggio, an Italian Stallion who would never dream of allowing Marilyn to be considered his equal as a person. Gray and Hunt share their first meeting, with Marilyn having no idea who he was or how famous he had been. Marilyn admits that she had always been a bit too much for men, except Joe. The sexual tension between them is apparent, but when Joe challenges Arthur that he was her best lover, we are still reticent to believe it. The most difficult part to watch was Joe raising his hand to strike Marilyn and her commenting to "Go ahead. You've done it before." With the rampant claims of sexual battery between sports figures and their wives in the news today, realizing what Marilyn endured during a time when women just accepted things the way they were makes her life seem even the sadder.

As a lifelong fan, I am always intrigued by new productions centering on the woman who wanted to be loved yet felt so unworthy of it that she allowed men to create one of the first media sex goddesses, who then took over every aspect of her life and relationships. She was a trailblazer and I just wish the world had been a little kinder to her and allowed her to be more than just a pretty blonde standing over a subway grate with her sexy white dress billowing up her legs. As upset as Joe was when he witnessed the scene being filmed, telling her no one should see what was his, that image is the one that will live on and keep the legend of Marilyn Monroe alive.

The Kennedys are referred to but never seen, most often when the phone rings which Marilyn refuses to answer knowing, or hoping, it is Bobby. I think having Bobby as another character in the play would be a very welcome addition, given our obsession with affairs of the heart in the White House.

As a special treat, inside the show's program is a never-before-seen image of Marilyn from a private collection, which was loaned to the production for public viewing during the show run. The photograph was taken in Banff, Canada in 1953, and Marilyn fostered a relationship with the photographer after he gave her a book of poetry - the very same book which was on her nightstand the day she passed away.

"GOODBYE MARILYN captures Marilyn Monroe in the same way this picture does," says the owner of the image, who wished to remain anonymous. "It sees beyond the celebrity."

GOODBYE MARILYN: A LOVE LETTER is at the Working Stage Theatre, 1516 N. Gardner St, West Hollywood, CA 90046. Shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 3pm through October 12. Pay what you can performance is Sunday, October 5. Tickets may be purchased online at https://goodbyemarilyn.eventbrite.com/

Alternating Cast Members: Melanie Cruz and KaLinda Gray (Marilyn), Chris Karmiol and Darrell Philip (Arthur), and Adam Slemon and John E. Hunt (Joe).

For more show information, visit http://GoodbyeMarilyn.com/; the play can also be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/goodbyemarilyn or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Goodbye-Marilyn-A-Love-Letter/1497080960521909.

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