Co-directors Nancy Robillard and Olympia Dukakis provide a lovely world premiere for this delicate one-act memory play by Leslie Ayvazian, who held forth on this stage in her solo-show High Dive last winter. Ayvazian leads a cast of four as the “I” in a gossamer-thin play. The “Rosemary” of the title, played with charm and warmth by Judith Roberts, is the mother of Ayvazian’s character.
Storyline: Ayvazian’s character begins by assembling artifacts from her life with her mother – a comb or a bell or a diary. Each triggers a memory which brings to life her mother, her father and her mother’s companion/accompanist from a career as a concert singer. The exploration of her relationship with her mother expands to include the relationship between her mother and her father and the relationship that might have developed between her mother and her mother’s friend. It touches on the possible sources of her own personality, her ability to establish relationships and her sexual preference, but the concentration is principally on her effort to recall her moments with her parents.
As a playwright, Ayvazian seems averse to providing much exposition in the early going. She simply starts with “Starting with . . .” and launches right into the event. A number of false starts result in returning time and again to “starting with” as Ayvazian’s character considers exactly what it is she wants to consider. Such, of course, is the way memory often functions, and it becomes a theme for the entire one act piece. The result, however, is that the “what is going on here” stage, which most plays attempt to handle in the first scene, extends nearly throughout the entire piece. Indeed, Ayvazian regularly returns to “starting with” for nearly an hour of the one hour and ten minute play, and only gets to “ending with” at the very end.
Ayvazian is surrounded by a cast that does justice to the gentle dialogue of the play. The affection and warm recollections shared by Roberts as Rosemary and Jewell Robinson as her friend from the past is natural, effortless and charming, while Sam Groom has a light touch for the humor which defines the character of the father. His assertion that he is important because he is “a central figure” becomes the moral of the piece as it asserts that everyone is “a central figure.”
The four are not alone on stage. John Hodian plays his own musical accompaniment on a partially visible piano stage left with Bet Williams at his side handling the vocal duties which suggest the impact of “Rosemary’s” background as a touring concert singer. The play is in no way a musical, but they provide a musical setting that matches the understated charm of the physical setting. James Kronzer’s set involves diaphanous drapes and a single bench. Chris Lee’s lighting is subtle and effective while Marilyn Salvatore has provided soft pastel costumes for the memory characters and a sharper mixture of burgundy and reds for Ayvazian.
Written by Leslie Ayvazian. Directed by Olympia Dukakis and Nancy Robillard. Original score by John Hodian, performed by John Hodian and Bet Williams. Design: James Kronzer (set) Marilyn Salvatore (costumes) Dayana Yochim (properties) Chris Lee (lights) Matt Rowe (sound) Delia Taylor (stage manager). Cast Leslie Ayvazian, Sam Groom, Judith Roberts, Jewell Robinson.
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