Mamie Gummer Online | Mr. Marmalade

Mr. Marmalade

Directed by: Michael Greif

Written by: Noah Haidle

Location: Roundabout Theatre Company at Laura Pels

Dates: November 01, 2005-January 29, 2006

In Noah Haidle's outrageous new comedy Mr. Marmalade, adult behavior is interpreted through the characters Lucy and Larry, two very smart children. Lucy has a precocious vocabulary, killer skills in the kitchen, a husband who spends too much time at the office, and she's just four years old! Her imaginary world revolves around a too-busy businessman named Mr. Marmalade who never has time for the child who adores him.

Cast & Characters

Michael C. Hall
Mamie Gummer
Pablo Schreiber
Virginia Louise Smith
David Costabile

... Mr. Marmalade
... Lucy
... Larry
... Sookie, Emily, Sunflower
... Bradley

Image Library

Quotes

"When I read the script, I laughed out loud. I didn't realize, until I auditioned for the play, how dark it was. Perhaps it should have occurred to me that this is not the most digestible material, especially for older audiences. But the play speaks to something in my generation: the feeling of isolation and the media assault on our psyches, how television and pop psychology books have become the barometer by which we measure our emotions and understand our relationships. I'm an adult playing a child playing an adult. I also have to think about how aware or unaware Lucy is of creating all the drama that surrounds her. I think Lucy is delusional, but of course she doesn't. She's willing these characters into being. I looked at small kids and some old home movies of myself, but generally I did what felt natural. "Just wearing the tutu helped get me into character. I also spoke in a higher register, and that helped."

Reviews

Gummer most successfully balances maturity and youth, seeming from beginning to end like a four-year-old going on 35. Her squeaky voice rings with a harsh, knowing edge that ideally complements her gawky, too-small-for-her-body physicality.

The production is colorful and handsome and the actors do their best to rise above the material given them. Gummer, if her resemblance to her talented mom can be taken as an indication, probably has the potential to act a lot better than allowed for by this role, especially with director Greif doing little to discourage her from pitching Lucy's squaky little-girl voice as high as possible.