NEW YORK—"It will happen to you," actress Vanessa Redgrave quietly proclaims at the beginning of The Year of Magical Thinking, referring to something no one really wants to think about—how things can change in an instant and how those we love can be cruelly snatched away. In an acting tour-de-force, Redgrave plays author Joan Didion, the playwright of this stage work, based on her memoir of the same name.
This one-woman show recounts Didion's struggle to come to terms with the sudden death of her husband of nearly 40 years, as well as the death of their only child from septic shock. The play's title refers to her attempt to hold herself together by constructing elaborate mental scenarios (or as she puts it, "if" thinking; i.e. if I do this, then this will occur), to avoid fully accepting what has happened. However, one day her subconscious says "enough" and the vortex of memories which she has tried so hard to avoid envelop her full force.
Delivered in terms factual and heartbreaking (often both at the same time), Redgrave tells Didion's story with a powerful intensity. It's an exquisite and restrained performance of a woman used to being in control (that way she can keep her family safe), then trying to find such power in a situation where it doesn't exist.
The almost-matter-of-fact statements—such as "I have no memory of what I meant to have for dinner," regarding the night Didion's husband died—are all the more poignant for their quietness.
Additionally, Redgrave's presence is such that she grabs and holds the stage for the entire 95-minute work. It was also a good choice to have no real set to speak of, just a single chair and a changing backdrop, allowing Redgrave (and Didion) to simply tell the story. David Hare's direction is also nicely restrained, letting the power of the performance and the words carry the day.
At the end there is no ringing conclusion, no firm resolve or affirmation of life and love; only that we must simply keep going—which is basically all anyone can do.
Credit also goes to Bob Crowley's scenic design, Ann Roth's costumes, and Jean Kalman's lighting.
the year of Magical Thinking
The Booth Theater
222 West 45th Street
Tickets: 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com
Closes: August 25, 2007
Judd Hollander is the New York correspondent for the London publication THE STAGE.
Feeds