Prologue Theatre to Present MARJORIE PRIME by Jordan Harrison This Spring

Prologue Theatre will return to the Atlas Performing Arts Center from April 26 to May 19, 2024 with Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison; a captivating drama that explores human, and digital, interpersonal relationships and challenges our perceptions of memory, identity, and loss.

Prologue's Artistic Director, Jason Tamborini, originally selected the play to be performed during the 2020-2021 season, but the production had to be postponed for obvious reasons. Jason is thrilled to finally be bringing Marjorie Prime to audiences. "This play to me is a brilliant collision of science and art, technology and humanity, connection and distance. I connect with this play for a number of very personal reasons and I (wholeheartedly) believe and expect many of our audience members to feel similarly. The universality of relationships and their ephemeral nature, the question of how deeply we allow technology to play a part in our lives, and our basic human need for connection are what, I feel, make this play so thrilling to bring to people."

Marjorie Prime tells the story of octogenarian Marjorie who is battling dementia as her daughter Tess and son-in-law Jon introduce cutting-edge technology to their household called a Prime. The Prime, which resembles Marjorie's deceased husband, Walter, becomes a repository of memories selectively shaped by Tess and Jon. As Marjorie's health declines, Tess grapples with aging, mortality, and the complex relationship with her mother.

Jason is also directing this play and working with a stellar cast including: Rosemary Regan (Marjorie), Gabriel Alejandro (Walter), Kimberly Gilbert (Tess), and Sam Lunay (Jon).

The talented design team is creating a version of Tess and Jon's home and environment that reflects the state of the characters' minds to the audience. Prologue is grateful to be working with Sarah Reed (Scenic Designer), Malory Hartman (Lighting Designer), Ian Vespermann (Sound Designer), and Sydney Moore (Costume Designer) as well as Stage Managers Daniel Niewoehner and Willow McFatter.

Prologue Theatre will continue to host the post-show audience conversations they are known for, delving into the themes of the play and answering questions after each Saturday afternoon matinee, on April 27, May 4, May 11, and May 18.

When asked about the questions he is most looking forward to discussing with audiences Jason offers, "Beyond the questions about how technology can and will evolve to assist people - and whether it should - this play also deals with memory and grief. I am curious about what others think about how we, as individuals, as small family-unit groups, and as a society, deal with loss and grief. And, when it comes to discussing memory, I am enthralled by the concept that if our memories make us who we are, are we the same if we can't access them? and then consequently ... what makes us, us?"

Marjorie Prime is being performed at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC 20002 from April 26 to May 19, 2024. Evening performances (Fridays and Saturdays) begin at 7:30 pm and weekend matinees (Saturdays and Sundays) begin at 2:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased via www.prologuetheatre.org.

Please note, the play is recommended for ages 15+ and the topics of dementia, grief, and suicide are part of this story.

About the Playwright:

Jordan Harrison was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Marjorie Prime, which premiered at the Mark Taper Forum and had its New York premiere at Playwrights Horizons. A film adaptation, directed by Michael Almereyda, premiered in the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Jordan's play Maple and Vine premiered in the 2011 Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville and went on to productions at American Conservatory Theatre and Playwrights Horizons, among others. Other plays include The Grown-Up (Humana Festival), Doris to Darlene, a cautionary valentine (Playwrights Horizons), Amazons and their Men (Clubbed Thumb), Act A Lady (Humana Festival), Finn in the Underworld (Berkeley Rep), Futura (Portland Center Stage/NAATCO), Kid-Simple (Humana Festival), The Museum Play (WET), and a musical, Suprema (O'Neill Music Theatre Conference).

Jordan is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hodder Fellowship, the Horton Foote Prize, the Kesselring Prize, the Roe Green Award from Cleveland Play House, the Heideman Award, a Theater Masters Innovative Playwright Award, the Loewe Award for Musical Theater, Jerome and McKnight Fellowships, a NYSCA grant, and a NEA/TCG Residency with The Empty Space Theater. His children's musical, The Flea and the Professor, won the Barrymore Award for Best Production after premiering at the Arden Theatre. A graduate of Stanford University and the Brown MFA program, Jordan is an alumnus of New Dramatists. For three seasons, he was a writer and producer for the Netflix original series "Orange is the New Black."

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