Marjorie Prime
Steve Noll
'Marjorie Prime' is a Mercury Players Theatre production.
Jenny Maahs, left, and Edric Johnson in 'Marjorie Prime,' a Mercury Players Theatre production; in the background are Peggy Rosin, left, and Nate Reid.
When it was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the setting for Jordan Harrison’s Marjorie Prime was “the near future.” In Mercury Players Theatre’s new production, it’s basically set, well, now. Marjorie suffers from Alzheimer’s. Her son-in-law gets her an AI “hologram” of her late husband to help her failing memory. Her stories are not always real, but the AI takes them as truth. The play probes what makes a human “human” and a lot of other questions we find ourselves grappling with. Shows are at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays (except 4 p.m. on Sept. 26) and at 4 p.m. on Sept. 20.
media release: The Bartell Theatre, 113 E Mifflin Street, launches their 29th season with the Mercury Players Theatre production of “Marjorie Prime” by Jordan Harrison, running September 18-26, 2026.
Marjorie, a widow, has Alzheimer’s and is rapidly losing her memories. Her estranged daughter Tess has moved her into her home with Tess’ husband Jon. To help Marjorie retain her fading mind, Jon gets an AI hologram of Marjorie’s dead husband Walter (a Prime). To Tess’s horror, Marjorie envisions him as how he looked as a young man when they got married. Marjorie starts telling Walter Prime stories of their life, but her Alzheimer’s mixes facts and fiction that the AI program takes as truth. Marjorie dies before Tess can reconnect with her mother, and in her grief, creates Marjorie Prime who only holds the memories of Walter Prime. Family secrets, denials, grief, trauma, and what exactly is the truth are all revealed. This show recently closed the 2026 Broadway season in New York.
Director Steve Noll is a Digital Marketing Professor at Madison College and has been teaching AI tools and ethics for over 10 years. “I’ve always been fascinated with what is memory” he says. “Two people can have the same experience but remember it differently. So what exactly is the truth? I’ve been long saying that the rise of AI comes with serious ethical dilemmas and using AI for therapy is a risky situation. When I read this play, all of that collided and I knew I wanted to direct this incredibly relevant and cautiously alarming story.”
Veteran Bartell actor Peggy Rosin plays Marjorie, with Jenny Maas as Tess, Edric Johnson as Jon and Nate Reid as Walter Prime.
“Marjorie Prime” will run 6 performances and all tickets ($25) are general seating. Tickets can be purchased at BartellTheatre.org or calling the Bartell Box Office (Tue-Fri 2p-6p) at 608-661-9696. Running time is 1:45 with one 15-minute intermission. Equal to a PG-13 rating for serious content and brief strong profanity.
