I recently saw the 2021 play WALDEN, by Amy Berryman. It’s a fascinating mediation on the future of the climate and what choices we (humanity as a whole and as individuals) can make to shape it. There’s enough science to be interesting if you like that, but not so much that it’s confusing to those who aren’t particularly science minded. I enjoyed the play, but I still walked away feeling like something was missing. Like the story was unfinished, and I want to tease out why.
~If you’re someone who cares about avoiding spoilers, this probably isn’t the essay for you~
The primary thematic conflict of the play is the debate between the value of utilizing science to create places for humanity to leave once the planet is no longer inhabitable, and the value of investing our resources into protecting and healing the Earth we have. This dichotomy is set up beautifully in Cassie and Brian (respectively), and Stella serves as an interesting and complex character who feels pulled between these two forces.
I loved handling the climate conflict and the tension between the twins. One sister has everything the other wants, and yet doesn’t know if she wants it herself was captured really well in the staging I saw.
A contention I had with the script is the handling of the relationship between Cassie and Brian. The chemistry of the characters is captured well, there is a fascinating similarity in their relationships to their own ideologies and how they became so dedicated to their respective lifestyles. The characters are clearly aware at how well they compliment each other as they both state the other is “just so easy to talk to”, and of course the climax of the play is launched by an almost-kiss between them.
Up until this point in the play I was hooked. I saw the sparks fly during their first conversation together and was honestly waiting for how the playwright was going to handle Brian moving from one sister to the other. But then something happened that I haven’t been able to reconcile with: the play just ignored it.
Stella busts into the argument, interrupting the kiss, but doesn’t seem particularly angry at it specifically and directs her anger at the larger trend of Cassie wanting everything she has. Which, I don’t disagree with at all, the way Stella handled this argument honestly felt incredibly mature and it was something I wasn’t expecting. But then Stella also dismisses Brian’s attempt to reassure her about the almost-kiss. And then the final scene simply flashes forward to a time where Brian and Stella are supposedly happy and none of that almost-infidelity seems to matter.
And this is where I am left with: What is the purpose of an infidelity sub-plot to then be completely ignored in the end?
The plot made complete sense for the characters involved. Brian not only represents something that Stella has and therefore Cassie wants, he also is someone that doesn’t have the expectations of Cassie (Or Stella) that they are both so used to feeling the weight of. And to tie it all in a bow he loves to discuss their philosophies and is willing to listen and be challenge and challenge in return. I mean, he’s written to be quite perfect for Cassie.
And for Brian, Cassie has something that Stella seems to lack, which is the ability to be open. Their connection due to this desire to be open and explore ideas together is apparent from their first solo conversation, so it was no surprise to me as it became more clear in later scenes where their relationship was going. My only confusion is why it wasn’t directly addressed.
I can reason that Stella was willing to ignore what happened because of the weird situations that led to it. Perhaps she thinks it was initiated by Cassie and so it hasn’t effected her feelings of security with Brian. And maybe she understands that Cassie doesn’t try to take everything on purpose so she’s still able to forgive and move forward. Sure.
What I struggle more to accept is that Cassie and Brian just move on from what happened. They both found someone that they connect with (for Brian, arguably more than we see him connect with his fiance), and clearly they both felt an attraction, they both were willing to kiss each other before it got interrupted. So why would they just forget it?
When discussing the play with my partner, they brought up that one of the most interesting parts of the sister’s characterizations is that they have what the other wants. Cassie has the physical capability to withstand going to space that Stella desperately wants but just doesn’t have. I wholly agree that this tension that Stella has in not being able to go to space no matter how bad she wants it an incredibly well-executed conflict. However, Cassie doesn’t really have that same conflict. There is no biological limitation to Brian and Stella splitting up, and Cassie leaving NASA for a similar life with Brian. Cassie’s conflicts are purely moral. She’s battling her sense of autonomy over her own life and body versus her sense of duty. The choice that she’s being pushed to make, to dedicate the rest of her life to desert of Mars with no one but the few scientists also trapped up there, is one that in my experience of the play, doesn’t receive an adequate reason to go. Cassie makes it clear she doesn’t actually want to go, and is only doing so because everyone around her (except Brian!) tells her she has to. This includes Stella, which is fascinating considering the amount of turmoil Stella is experiencing because of that same pressure being put on her.
The play doesn’t officially tell us what choice Cassie makes in terms of going to Mars. But I still felt a bit, unsatisfied because Cassie doesn’t seem to have a reason to go to Mars by the end of the play. The first half of the play seems to set up for a moral lesson about the weight of others expectations on us, and how we can still take control of our own lives even when it’s incredibly challenging. But then it doesn’t. And the characters continue to make the choices they’ve been making from the start, even after making it rather clear they aren’t fully satisfied.
Maybe I’m missing something. If I am, let me know. I did really enjoy this play and I highly recommend every goes to see it if they can. And if there’s ever a rewrite, I’M THERE.
I saw it at InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia, PA. It’s running through Nov 24!
https://www.interacttheatre.org/