Legacy of Light at Theatre in the Round

Legacy of Light is the second ply by Karen Zacarias that I’ve seen at Theatre in the round. The first was The Book Club Play which has a run coming up at Lakeshore Players this March. Of the two plays The Book Club Play is the more entertaining of the two, but Legacy of Light is definitely the more ambitious work. The scenes alternate between France in the 1700’s and New Jersey present day. They have common themes connecting the two timelines, astronomy, love, pregnancy, ensuring family is cared for, nontraditional procreation relationships, and family histories. The connection happen thematically and by the end the two threads don’t just compliment each other but actually intersect in several surprising ways. It’s generally well acted, though it wasn’t until the second act that the characters gelled into what they are intended to be.

In the past we follow Emilie du Chatelet, who is the wife of the Marquis du Chatelet, the mother of
Pauline, the lover of both the young poet Saint-Lambert, and the older Voltaire whom she collaborated with on philosophical and scientific works. She becomes pregnant at 42 and fears due to her age and the fact that she almost died from a previous pregnancy that she will not survive the childbirth. In the present day we follow Olivia, an astronomer who may have discovered an embryonic planet, she’s a cancer survivor who can no longer bear children. She and her husband Peter contract a young woman named Millie to be a surrogate for their child. Millie is doing it for the money so that she and her brother Lewis can pay off their debts which have mounted since the death of their mother the previous year.

David Denninger as Voltaire and Hawken Paul as Saint-Lambert and Lewis, are the two Actors who seem to have taken their characters, at least initially in directions that don’t mesh with their characters at the end. But perhaps this is the script or Kari Steinbach’s direction. Voltaire at first seems to be a character we are to see as ridiculous, but that idea is completely wiped from our idea of the character by the end. Saint-Lambert seems the young romantic before becoming ridiculous. Their fight at the outset while humorous seems to come at the cost of a unified character. Paul’s second character Lewis remains constant throughout, which is that of a completely idiotic tunnel visioned and illogical manchild. Paul plays the role well, but it is a character that is hard to feel anything but frustration and dislike for. Rachel Postle as Emilie du Chatelet, Anna Olson as Olivia are very strong as is Emma Tonn as Millie and Pauline, though there is more for her to do as Millie she does get a few good scenes as Pauline as well. Finally Mark Sweeney gets to show a little versatility as a rather direct and centered man in the past and a more easy going, and low key husband in the present day storyline.

The set design by Sadie Ward works well with some creative lighting cues from Lighting Designer Bill Larsen. The apple tree being a nice touch and the math equations and celestial markings painted on the floors and walls combined with light projections of astronomical shapes are nice touches. The period costumes are especially well realized by Costume Designer Colleen O’Dell. Legacy of Light runs through March 16th at Theatre in the Round. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/legacy-of-light/

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