CARLSBAD, California — Wrapping up its run at New Village Arts, The Half-Life of Marie Curie is delighting audiences right up to the end. It’s a story about the unusual alchemy of friendship. Most of the 2-woman show is centered on just a few days in the life of Marie Curie (Rachel Vanwormer) after the French public learned about her affair with Paul Langevin.
Her best friend, British Jewish scientist Hertha Ayrton, (born as Sarah Marks) (Leigh Scarritt) comes to France to offer her support after she failed to respond to five letters. She demands that Curie and her girls come to her home on the English coast to get away from the relentless abuse from the press and public.
I love Hertha’s chutzpah and moxie, and Scarritt does a great job bringing it to life. Vanwormer’s Curie is tortured and compelling. Director Kim Pappas deserves recognition as well.
The set is a simple house interior with large glass doors and serves as both Curie’s home in France and Hertha’s English seaside home. Lighting and sound (ocean noises) help differentiate between the locations.
My favorite scene was when the ladies were getting sloppy drunk and going through all the phases of drunkenness. It brings some much-needed comic relief to what could otherwise be a very heavy topic.
They used an interesting story telling device, wherein most of the play’s 90 minutes were spent on those few days in 1912, and then in the last 15 minutes they give a rapid-fire account of the rest of both women’s lives, showing how this devastating time in Curie’s life was but a blip in an illustrious career.
Unfortunately, the show comes to a close today. But keep an eye on New Village Arts and its show schedule. Though you may not be able to make this performance, it has a solid track record of selecting interesting and unusual plays and executing them well.
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Sandi Masori is a theater and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.