Mary Jane
Seattle Repertory Theater, 2026
Written by Amy Herzog
Scenery by Julia Hayes Welch
Costumes by Heidi Zamora
Lighting by Connie Yun
Sound by Sun Hee Kil
Amy Herzog’s openhearted yet unsentimental play, now running at Seattle Rep and directed with fitting delicacy by Allison Narver, zooms in on a woman who’s become an (essentially) full-time caregiver for her toddler son who lives with multiple chronic illnesses including cerebral palsy.
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“Mary Jane” does what a great play can do: It widens your aperture on an unfamiliar world just a tiny bit, the better to then look out on your own world with a little more understanding and empathy. Learning how much you don’t know, and likely can never know, is a powerful lesson.
This compact, 95-minute play is guaranteed to break your heart. Herzog’s story is semi-autobiographical, about the impossible reality of parenting a chronically ill 2-year-old who wasn’t expected to live past his first week. But don’t mistake it for a tragic Lifetime movie. Instead, it captures what it is to be suspended, frozen in a state of crisis, but the play still promises humor, clarity, and humanity.
The Stranger
Allison Narver has done an excellent job of staging it. … Mary Jane is blessed with Amy Herzog’s thoughtful, moving script (and one based on her own life and experience with her daughter) and a very superb production from Seattle Rep. Very much recommended to fans of powerful, moving theater and well crafted drama.
