Set in 1951 and 1968, a photographer struggles to build her career, and in the aftermath of her husband’s descent into mental illness, to keep her son and her secrets safe. Lillian, a photographer, and Max, a painter, nurture one another in both their personal and their professional worlds. Max’s manic-depressive illness unravels their lives, however, and its echoes reverberate through the adolescence of the couple’s son, Josh. It is the time of the Vietnam War and Josh, a gifted guitar player is intent on defying his mother’s wishes that he remain in school to avoid the draft and chart an easier life than that of his parents. Their relationship is upended by Josh’s discovery of the truth of his father’s life and illness.
Art, love, and psychosis In post-WWII Cape Cod. Years later in Vietnam era NYC, a secret threatens to tear apart the life of a young musician and his family.
Coming to The Tank: 312 W 36th St. New York, NY. November 6: 3 pm | November 9: 7 pm.
SYNOPSIS
THEMATIC BACKGROUND
Marshlight traces the stigma that mental health illness holds. It charts the lengths one family has gone in dealing with it and concealing it. It charts the losses that come to relationship when subterfuge becomes the tool of safety.
One audience member after seeing an earlier production wrote: “I wanted to tell everyone involved in the play that you have created a remarkable, powerful, cathartic force which I feel should be seen by those with mental illness, those who serve them, and those who love them or ostracize and isolate them.”
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Lillian Walcott Weiss - A photographer – 30 and 47. WASP, NYC
Max Weiss - A painter, Lillian’s husband - mid-30’s, early 50’s Jewish, Bronx
Stewart Walcott - Lillian’s father - 50's, 70ish WASP, NYC
Marjorie Walcott - Lillian’s mother - 50's WASP, Boston
Bill Figueira - A gallery owner - mid-30's, early 50’s Cape Verdean, Provincetown, MA
Josh Weiss - A musician, Lillian and Max’s son - 17 - NYC
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
All characters except Marjorie and Josh age 17 years over the course of the play. The show takes place in Max and Lillian’s living room, a walkup in Manhattan, a room in the Hudson River Psychiatric institution, and the living room of a Wellfleet, MA cottage.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
World premiere at Ensemble Studio Theater (LA)
Directed by John Frank Levey
