Last night, I
saw Jackie Sibblies Drury's new play Marys
Seacole, which is inspired by the life of the British-Jamaican world
traveler who helped wounded soldiers during the Crimean War.
Presumably, the
play is called "Marys"
because each of the six performers has a variation of the name Mary, and each seems
to represent an aspect of the famous Mary Seacole. The leading actor, Quincy
Tyler Bernstine, most closely represents Seacole, and is listed in the program
as "Mary." Karen Kandel, who appears as Seacole's mother among other
characters, is listed as "Duppy Mary." Gabby Beans, whose multiple characters
assist Seacole in various ways, is listed as "Mamie." Other actors
are listed as "May," "Merry," and "Miriam."
Born Mary Jane
Grant, the historical Mary Seacole learned traditional medicine in Jamaica and
referred to herself as a "doctoress." She travelled to Britain, the
Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti before she married Edwin Seacole in 1836. Eight years
later, he died, and after a period of grief, she rededicated herself to healing
others. She travelled to Panama and tended to victims of a cholera epidemic,
avoiding opium as a treatment and generally prescribing herbal remedies. Later,
when the Crimean War broke out, she offered her services, but the British War
Department declined.
Undaunted,
Seacole went to the Crimea anyway, set up a hotel, met with Florence Nightingale,
and provided aid and comfort to British soldiers. The position she had of being
a healer, but neither a doctor nor a nurse exactly, might have inspired Drury
to use Seacole as a representative of the many heathcare workers in the U.S.
today who have various levels of training and provide necessary services but
don't enjoy the status (or salaries) of certified doctors and nurses.
Consequently, the play travels back and forth between Mary Seacole in the 19th
century and a character named Mary in the 21st century who is an immigrant from
Jamaica working in a nursing home in the U.S.
The concept
provides a lot of humor and allows Drury to meditate on caregiving in America
today at the same time she is exploring the life of Seacole. Personally, I was
more interested in learning about the historical Seacole, but Drury's
present-day characters also sparkle with life (even when they are dying) and
rarely fail to entertain. The play is performed without an intermission, but it
is divided into two acts, during the latter of which the two realities become increasingly
blurred. Toward the end, the play takes another turn, when Mary has a powerful
confrontation with her mother that brings up a host of issues.
