Mary's Wedding opens at Riverside

Riverside - Mary's Wedding by Stephen Massicotte opens at Riverside on Thursday, April 1st. Massicotte, a Canadian playwright, describes Mary’s Wedding as “a memorial to both the Great War and Great Love.” At the outset of this two-actor drama, it is established that what the audience will see occurs the night before Mary, a young British emigrant to Canada, is to get married. Mary’s dreams form the action of the play, shifting through time and place, from rural Canada to battlefields in France.

Kalen Harriman (of Chicago) plays Mary, and Martin Andrews (of Iowa City) plays Charlie, Mary’s beloved and a skilled horseman who enlists as a cavalryman with the British forces. In some battlefield scenes, Harriman also portrays Charlie’s commanding officer, Flowers, a character based on an actual sergeant in the Canadian cavalry.

Director Sean Christopher Lewis said that the play is about the truth of love and not the romantic ideal. “We have iconic images in our minds when we think of WWI: the heroic young boy sent off to the front. His doting girl waiting at home, keeping her love close to her heart and memory. But who will that boy be when he returns, after what he does and sees in battle? And if he doesn't come home, what will become of that girl? This play is as complicated as the emotions it explores. It’s an honest portrayal of first love—which is always filled with excitement, terror, longing and even sadness.”

In addition to directing, Lewis designed the sound for Mary’s Wedding. The production also features scenic design by Riverside Theatre technical director Shawn Johnson, costume design by Monica Berry, and lighting design by Courtney Schmitz Watson.

Tickets range from $12-$26 with a $12 student rush 20 minutes before the performance. Tickets may be ordered through the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 213 N. Gilbert St., (319) 338-7672 or online.