Mary, Mary 1980

In the nursery rhyme, Mary Mary is quite contrary. In Jean Kerr’s play Mary, Mary, Mary contrarily turns every compliment into a joke. Mary is bright and quick and perky, but she grew up thinking she wasn’t as pretty as her older sister. She was the smart one, so she has a smart remark for every situation. It’s a habit that helped ruin her marriage to Bob, who was himself no help. He just assumed that Mary knew she was pretty – why else would he have been attracted to her? – so he didn’t think he needed to tell her.

A year after they’ve gone their separate ways, Bob is about to marry again. Tiffany is ten years younger than Bob. Her name gives you her character, though Becky Vogt, in the current production of Mary, Mary at K’s Theatrical Korps, handles smoothly Tiffany’s transition from bubblehead to surprisingly sensible.
However, Bob’s accountant needs Mary’s help on some questions about Bob’s income tax returns. This is playwright’s Kerr’s rather lame device for getting Bob and Mary together again. In compensation, Kerr gives the accountant some of the play’s better laugh lines, and Matt Caulley’s well-timed delivery of the accountant’s quips lightens some lengthy expository moments in the early going.

Kerr also comes up with an old Navy buddy of Bob’s who just happens by to see his old friend. Dirk also just happens to have become a famous movie star, and he just happens to be quite taken with Mary. Unlike Bob, Dirk has no problem in praising Mary’s good looks. At K’s Theatrical Korps, Steve Molen may remind you more of John Goodman than of Tom Cruise, but he has a charm and sincerity that make you believe Mary could nearly be swept off her feet by him.

In fact, you wish he would sweep Mary off her feet. Dwane Lay makes ex-husband Bob as sympathetic as possible, but Bob is pretty obtuse and a lot less exciting than Dirk. Mary, Mary, though, is very much a 1950s play, from its 3-act structure to its setting in the bland New York publishing world to its wordy dialogue to its happy ending. I don’t think I’m giving away a major plot surprise by saying that a 1950s happy ending means that the marriage is saved. The couple admit they still love each other, and they’ll each be much more understanding of the other in the future.

As Mary, Kathy Doerr carries the burden of a lot of this dated material, including the excessive verbiage. Attractive as Doerr is, even she can’t play with enough variety to keep all those words interesting. And director Jackie Aumer, who generally keeps a clear eye on the proceedings, might have helped Doerr focus her playing with more subtlety of both words and movement. Even so, the biggest problems in this attractively staged production lie in the script. Mary, Mary continues through Sunday [10/28/2001] at K’s Theatrical Korps. Call 314-351-8984 for tickets and information.