The Messenger at PTC

Last night I had the opportunity to see an incredibly timely and relevant play called The Messenger at Pioneer Theatre.  This play by Jeff Talbot, which is having its world premiere at PTC, is loosely based on the Henrik Ibsen play An Enemy of the People and I found it to be very powerful.  In 1882 the Mayor of a small town in Norway, Peter Stockman (Mark H. Dold), is proud of the mineral baths that have brought tourists to the town, provided jobs for the citizens, and bolstered the housing market.  However, his sister Dr. Therese Stockman (Ora Jones) is concerned about a mysterious illness that is afflicting her patients, and has killed at least one of them, so she decides to investigate.  When she receives a report showing that the water is contaminated, she feels compelled to warn the public of the danger to their health.  She confides in her friend Kristine Hovstad (Meredith Holzman), the owner and editor of the newspaper The Messenger, and asks her to publish the report.  This brings her into conflict with her brother, who fears that the mineral baths will be closed which will put many people out of work and ruin his chances for reelection, and with her friend, who has her own agenda about what should be published.  Therese takes matters into her own hands and reveals her findings at a public meeting (which features characters played by Alexis Grace Thomsen, Marcello Joseph Say, Victoria Wolfe, and Connor Mamaux-Partridge in the audience who refuse to believe the science and heckle her) which puts her life and the life of her daughter Petra (Turna Mete) in jeopardy.  She must weigh the individual rights of her friends and family against the greater public good.  The parallels between 19th century Norway and contemporary America are incredibly striking as the debate between keeping people safe from a contagious disease vs. keeping the economy going rages on.  I also enjoyed the discussion about the role the media plays in a crisis and the isolation that being a whistleblower causes.  These themes are still very relevant today.  The entire cast is strong but I was especially impressed with Jones who has a commanding presence, particularly in a scene with Dold where she lashes out at her brother for never listening to her.  She gave me goosebumps.  At first I found the staging of the public meeting to be a bit jarring.  The characters yelling insults at Therese seem to be members of the audience because they are in contemporary costumes but I eventually decided that they are meant to represent the role social media plays in swaying public opinion.  I loved the set because it appears to be deconstructed as the play goes on which represents the disruption that this situation has caused Therese and I also loved the bold primary colors used in the period costumes for the women (Therese has a gorgeous red velvet coat).  I didn't realize that this was a one act play performed without an intermission so I was absolutely stunned by the final line of dialogue.  I just sat there in my seat for a minute or two before I noticed that everyone around me was on their feet giving a thunderous ovation.  It was such a powerful moment!  I thoroughly enjoyed this thought-provoking play and highly recommend it.  Unfortunately there are only a few performances left (go here for tickets).