Prime Productions Comes To Park Square Theatre To Present MARJORIE PRIME

PRIME Productions presents Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison on the Andy Boss Thrust Stage at Park Square Theatre, running April 19 through May 19, 2019, and directed by Elena Giannetti.

"Halfway through our lives - that's exactly it. There's the half where you live and the half where you live through other people. "

- Tess in Marjorie Prime

Step into the not so distant future - where 85-year-old Marjorie has a handsome new companion that is the repository of the memories of her life. As a creation of Artificial Intelligence, "Walter" remembers only what Marjorie and her family have chosen to tell him. They struggle to reconcile their own human identity as they are challenged by the limits of what technology can replace. What would we remember, and what would we forget, if given the chance?

Director Elena Giannetti says: "Although this play is set in the not-too-distant future, the themes of memory, loss and grief and how we confront them is very much in the now. By using Artificial Intelligence as a backdrop for a conversation around relationships and memory, Jordan gives us a smart and unsettlingly current setting to debate the issue of how much we need to remember, and who decides the value of those memories and the role of technology is used to preserve them. I'm so excited to tell a story that helps PRIME Productions put mature actors on stage, while also giving voice to the struggle we all face when dealing with their own mortality."

"Does it bother you that she's talking to a computer?

Or that it's a computer pretending to be your dad?"

- Jon in Marjorie Prime

cast features Candace Barrett Birk* (Marjorie), Laura Stearns (Tess), Andre Shoals* (Jon), and James Rodríguez (Walter). production design team includes Costume Designer Amy Kaufman, Sound Designer Katie Korpi, Lighting Designer Mike Kittel, Set Designer Joseph Stanley and Stage Manager Jamie Kranz. * Member, Actors' Equity Association

Marjorie Prime is made possible by the Saint Paul Cultural Star Grant Program and is being produced by PRIME Productions as a part of Park Square's "Theatres in Residence" Series.

Special Post Show Discussions have been added about topics and themes from the play. They include the following:

· Sunday, April 28 - 2:00 PM Matinee: Professor Maria Gini from the University of Minnesota Department of Computer Science and Engineering, specializing in robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

· Saturday, May 11 - 7:30 PM: Marysue Moses from Ebenezer Memory Care, will discuss the creative and clinical ways of treating dementia and Alzheimer's disease, including how to counsel family, friends and caregivers.

· Friday, May 17 - 7:30 PM: Minnesota Women's Press will host a guest panel focusing on the topic of their April issue 'Endings.'

All tickets available through the Park Square Theatre Ticket Office

651-291-7005 || parksquaretheatre.org