Academy Award nominee Rachel McAdams stars in the Broadway premiere of MARY JANE, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog (4000 Miles, the recent Tony-nominated adaptation of A Doll’s House). Captivating, affecting and compassionate, it’s the story of a single mother in an impossible family situation. Faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, Mary Jane relies on unflagging optimism and humor, along with the wisdom of the women around her who have become a makeshift family, to take on each new day. But will inner strength and newfound friendships be enough to see her through? The New York Times calls Mary Jane “the most profound of Herzog’s many fine plays.” And The New Yorker raves, “beautiful and remarkable... Herzog has made theatre that shines.” Directing is the acclaimed Anne Kauffman (The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window).
The Manhattan Theater Club production that opened on Tuesday, starring the rom-dram charmer Rachel McAdams, confirms that earlier diagnosis. But Herzog, whose Broadway adaptation of “An Enemy of the People” is running a few blocks away, is not interested in locking down meaning. Like all great plays, “Mary Jane” catches light from different directions at different times, revealing different ideas. On the other side of the worst of Covid, “Mary Jane” feels less like a parent’s cry for more life than an inquest into the meaning of death.
That gesture is typical of the understated yet gutting quality of this production of Mary Jane, which cuts the quotidian open to get to the bone of the existential.
2017 | Off-Broadway |
New York Theatre Workshop Production Off-Broadway |
2024 | Broadway |
Manhattan Theatre Club Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play | Rachel McAdams |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Rachel McAdams |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Mary Jane |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | Rachel McAdams |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Mary Jane |
2024 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Award | Rachel McAdams |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Anne Kauffman |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Rachel McAdams |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Amy Herzog |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Leah Gelpe |
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