Theatrical rising star and O’Neill finalist Amy Berryman brings us an “intelligent, soulful drama” (The Guardian) about how vast the space can be between two people. In the near future, Stella and her fiancé, Bryan, are waiting at their remote cabin for Stella’s estranged twin sister, Cassie. Raised by their astronaut father to be NASA scientists, the twins have taken different paths: Cassie has just returned from a successful moon mission, while Stella has left NASA behind. When they reunite, old conflicts reignite, forcing the sisters to choose between staying on Earth or pursuing a future in space, as humanity’s fate hangs in the balance. Directed by Tony Award®️ nominee Whitney White (Jaja's African Hair Braiding), Walden is a thrilling and engrossing new play that wrestles between the gravitational pulls of duty and desire.
The title, of course, refers to Henry David Thoreau’s paean to the beauties of the natural world; in the context of the play, it is also the name of the Mars habitat that Stella designed before her career at NASA was derailed. Ultimately Ms. Berryman’s drama is more successful as an exploration of knotty family conflicts than it is persuasive as a dystopian view of mankind’s in-the-offing predicament. Her dire vision is occasionally undermined by detail: If the world were really in such a parlous state, one can’t but wonder how Stella and Bryan have managed to collect such a well-stocked wine cellar.
Thanks to Rossum’s and Winters’ fearless performances, and the smooth direction of Whitney White (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding), we see the distance between the siblings, but we also see the indissoluble attachment. (Hard to believe that Rossum, who spent nine seasons on the Showtime black comedy Shameless, is making her off-Broadway debut.) And hat tip to casting director Taylor Williams: Rossum and Winters actually do look like twin sisters.
2024 | Off-Broadway |
Second Stage Theater Off-Broadway Premiere Off-Broadway |
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