Review: The world throws a lot at us, but ‘Mary Jane’ reminds us that we aren’t alone
They say it takes a village, but for Mary Jane, it takes a few kind hearts.
People bounce in and out of her life — some linger, others pass in a second. Each one is meaningful.
Mary Jane is in her 30s and spends most of her time in a small, one-bedroom apartment in Queens caring for her chronically ill son, Alex. His father is no longer in the picture but she “hopes he finds peace” after leaving. She has a job, but it teeters. Her boss seems relatively amenable to her situation, but her sick and vacation days have dried up… in July.
How does someone cope with that? Mary Jane seems to handle it fine — on the outside.
“Mary Jane” debuted on Broadway last year and was first performed in 2017. It was written by Pulitzer Prize-finalist Amy Herzog and is semi-autobiographical about her own experiences caring for her daughter Frances, who was born with nemaline myopathy and died at age 11 in 2023.
Directed for Three Bone Theatre by Robin Tynes-Miller, the role of Mary Jane is imbued by Nonye Obichere who is able to oscillate between the cheerful, the almost painfully constructed upbeat and the exhausted that allows the heavier topic to be carried with grace.
We become so accustomed to Mary Jane’s spirit in the early parts of the 90-minute play that as we run into the final act, the degradation of this facade accentuates the pain we are feeling.
It’s not that Mary Jane isn’t a genuinely cheerful person, but you can feel the mother keeping herself up because if she lets go, she would sink below the waves. And who wouldn’t? The hardest parts we see aren’t the medical devices that she describes or the day-to-day activities, but the attempt to find a moment of peace and release.
While she doesn’t immediately have a robust network around her that leaps to help, she isn’t alone.
At first it’s Ruthie (Banu Valladares), her building superintendent, who connects with Mary Jane over children and past lives, but notices her tenant also removed the window guards, which is a violation. Alex loves to look outside, Mary Jane says, but the boy struggles to lift his head up. A simple kindness and Ruthie decides to just look the other way.
Sherry (Lisa Schacher) seems to be the most constant in Mary Jane’s life as they reminisce about her starting the job over a year ago when she brought Mary Jane tomatoes from her garden. Mary Jane is the one to show kindness as Brianne (Maci Weeks), another mother starting a journey similar to hers, comes over seeking guidance.
Then Amelia (Cate Jo) arrives with Sherry, her aunt. She’s a shy college student who is traversing the life of being a freshman — who should I be, what should I do and where do I fit in?
But it gets interrupted when Sherry calls Mary Jane into the bedroom — Alex is having a seizure — and we’re left outside with Amelia. Similar to her, we feel powerless, frightened and the tension of the situation rises as she attempts to call 911 but also doesn’t know anything about the space she’s in right now.
That’s where the Three Bone production really flexes.
As we shift from Mary Jane’s apartment to the hospital, the setting changes before our eyes. Not just the movement of the set, but the lighting engulfs us in hues of blue, red and green — almost like we are lifting from the stress of reality and breathing through a larger power as we glide to the next portion of the story.
This is where you become entirely impressed with Tynes-Miller and the Three Bone production staff. You have a few of these moments — these almost cinematic flourishes that pop up unexpectedly. Coupled with some musical interludes, the production captures this balance between reality and celestial that opens time to breathe in between the vignettes.
The moments with the different women come both big and small, but they all leave an impression. Regardless of what happens after, these faces and interactions will stick with Mary Jane.
Much like Three Bone’s previous production, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” “Mary Jane” is more of a collective work than a single, anchored performance.
Lisa Schacher is able to embody two roles that feel like different sides of the same coin. After playing Sherry, the at-home nurse in the first half, she becomes Dr. Toros, who is in charge of Alex’s care when he’s in the hospital. The scene also contained some of the best work by Obichere as she has contained so much knowledge from this journey that she wants to know what the expectations are for Alex’s treatment. Dr. Toros isn’t aloof but also wants trust in her team’s process as much as bringing Mary Jane along with her.
We’re moved again in the final scene between Mary Jane and Teikei (Valladares), who is a Buddhist chaplain at the hospital. Alex is in surgery and Mary Jane doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. She’s friendly to the chaplain but doesn’t have the strength to hold up the facade anymore.
This all forgets to mention the migraine that is slowly taking her sight and leaving her with colored hues drowning her vision.
Teikei asks her about Alex and about herself, which is one of the biggest questions hanging over the story. Who is Mary Jane? Amid the appointments and the work days, the errands and obligations, who is she?
She is a mother and a caretaker to a son that she loves; she is an aspiring teacher and someone eager to connect with others; she is an empath and a good listener.
Alex’s condition has been all she’s talked about the entire time and as the stage goes dark, we don’t know what his future holds. We don’t know what’s next for Mary Jane either, but if the story has told us anything, she will find folks around her to help guide her on the next path.
Want to go?
Three Bone Theatre’s “Mary Jane” will be playing at The Arts Factory at West End Studios, 1545 West Trade St., Charlotte until Feb. 23. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m. while Sunday shows start at 2 p.m. Tickets are $30 if bought in advance, $35 if bought at the show and $15 for students and educators. You can purchase them here.
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This story was originally published February 8, 2025 at 2:31 PM.
