NUTLEY, NJ — “What makes great literature?” and “What makes great literature endure?” are two different questions, both of which will be addressed in Nutley Little Theatre’s upcoming production of “Third,” by Pulitzer Prize winner Wendy Wasserstein.
In “Third,” college professor Laurie Jameson encounters an unusual student in her class on “King Lear,” which leads to the multigenerational cast of characters expressing vastly different opinions on bias, success and academic integrity, all as they engage in spirited debates over “timeless” literature and current events. These conflicts force Laurie to deal with several upheavals in her family, workplace and firmly held ideals. “Third” was first produced off-Broadway in 2003.
Performances of “Third,” directed by Brendan Stackhouse, of Hoboken, will take place on Oct. 28 and 29, and Nov. 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 at 8 p.m.; and Oct. 30, and Nov. 6 and 12 at 2 p.m. at Nutley Little Theatre, 47 Erie Place in Nutley. Tickets can be purchased at nutleylittletheatre.com.
Performers include Penny Paul and Rachelle Rennagel, of Montclair; Alex Ward, of New York City; Jillian Mauro, of Warren; and Jim Simpson, of Bloomfield. Crew members include assistant director Ella Oleson, of New York City, and stage manager Susan Brody, of West Orange.
“Wendy Wasserstein was a brilliant playwright. She authored ‘The Heidi Chronicles’ — which won a Pulitzer — and ‘The Sisters Rosensweig,’” Paul told the Nutley Journal. “‘Third’ was her last play, and it captures the thoughts of a brilliant thinker at the end of her career who is taking stock of her life.
“The show reflects the time in which it was first written — during the first Gulf War — and you might be struck by the similarities to the present,” Paul continued. “There is a general lack of trust in government and academic institutions, and a growing malaise regarding the traditional metrics used to measure success. The younger people in the show are a lot like my own children, who are questioning the true value of an expensive private college education or whether protesting against the government actually does any good at all.”
According to Paul, the play manages to portray major existential issues while avoiding doom and gloom.
“The dialogue is smart and sparkling. There are moments of real humor and also of pathos. The plot closely parallels the plot of ‘King Lear,’ the play that Laurie is teaching that sets off the conflicts in the play,” Paul said. “Humans have been puzzling over these questions for years, and will continue to do so: Am I a good child or a good parent? Has my work made a difference in the world? Is it better to be right or to be loved? I hope everyone in the audience can relate to some of those questions — I know I do!”
According to the stage manager, this play really hits home.
“This play is lent extra poignancy by the fact that it was Wendy Wasserstein’s last — she finished writing it during her terminal illness, and its elegiac quality is hard to miss,” Brody said. “The protagonist, after 25 years of a trailblazing, feminist academic career, is brought up short by a male student who seems to meet none of her own scholarly criteria and yet turns in a brilliant paper on ‘King Lear.’ She jumps to conclusions and publicly accuses him of plagiarism. But then events within her own family force her for the first time to reexamine some of her most basic assumptions. The play is both thought provoking and funny, and the actors are all terrific.”
For Stackhouse, directing this play has been exciting, as he is working from a blank slate. Though the play is approximately 20 years old, Stackhouse has not had experience with previous stagings of “Third,” meaning this production truly hinges on his artistic influence and understanding of the events, as well as those of the cast and crew.
“Even though it was written in 2002 and reflects the political and cultural landscape of that time, the play is extremely timely,” Stackhouse told the Nutley Journal. “It has aged beautifully, and this seemed like a really good time to tell this story. I also love the complexity of the characters coupled with Wendy Wasserstein’s fantastic writing. She writes on a deeply intellectual level while still managing to be accessible.”
Simpson, who plays Jack Jameson, the protagonist professor’s father, has certainly drawn inspiration from today’s political scene for his performance.
“My character is older, 80s, has dementia, declines and dies over the course of the nine months of the play. Honestly, I’ve been studying our president” to prepare for this part, Simpson said. “The so-called culture wars really began decades ago among the college ‘professor-iat’ intellectuals. Wendy Wasserstein has written a clever, hard-hitting dramatization of the biases and hypocrisies latent in this conflict.”
To fill Laurie Jameson’s shoes, Paul needs to understand the character.
“I play Laurie Jameson, a professor at an elite New England college who takes great pride in her untraditional approach to literature, her career and what she sees as her trailblazing approach to feminism. Laurie’s point of view is challenged by her best friend, a new student and her daughter, who all try to show her that her dogma has limits and that she may need to start reevaluating her priorities,” Paul said. “As I am on stage for 85 percent of the play, I started memorizing my lines as soon as I was cast in August. The cast rehearses several times a week, and I have also been reading up on my Shakespeare, Jane Austen and other authors referenced in the play. I have a lot in common with my character: I went to an Ivy League college, my two kids are now grown, I am at the same stage in life — so, I understand personally at least some of what Laurie is going through.”
Stackhouse has greatly enjoyed working with the five cast members of this show, who have brought insight and compassion to the text.
“I work largely in musicals, so it’s been really rewarding and fun to work on a play, and it’s a whole different animal. We’ve been having some really amazing discussions so far and really dissecting moment by moment through the script, which has brought to light a lot of interesting discoveries,” Stackhouse said. “This company of actors is fantastic, and it’s been fascinating hearing them speak to their differing interpretations of certain moments.”
Just as each member of the cast and crew has taken away a message from the show, they hope audiences will both enjoy the show and be left thinking about it long after it ends.
“Everyone, no matter what their age or profession, can relate to issues like not understanding your family members of both older and younger generations, or wondering whether what you do really makes a difference in the world. I think people of all ages and backgrounds will appreciate the examination of these timeless topics,” Paul said. “I hope audiences will be entertained by the beautiful language of the play, which illustrates these universal themes through complicated and interesting characters and situations. I also hope audiences realize the joy of live theater again. Nutley Little Theatre, like so many local venues, closed during the pandemic. For actors, crew and audience members, it is so wonderful now to be able to gather together to enjoy art and community in person, the way these things are meant to be experienced.”
According to Simpson, he expects audiences to go through a range of emotions, ultimately leaving with an altered viewpoint.
“They’ll laugh, they’ll cry, they’ll question, they’ll think about the world around them a little differently,” Simpson said.
Ultimately, Stackhouse hopes this play will inform audience members on how to hold constructive dialogue regarding difficult topics.
“The play speaks volumes about open-mindedness in theory versus practice, and I think that, as a country, we struggle to find actionable ways to change or challenge our mindset,” Stackhouse said. “This play serves as a reminder of the dangers of having your viewpoints set in stone and unchallenged. I hope audiences leave with a renewed perspective on how to have productive discourse with those who might see things differently from themselves.”
“What makes great literature?” and “What makes great literature endure?” are two different questions, both of which will be addressed in Nutley Little Theatre’s upcoming production of “Third,” by Pulitzer Prize winner Wendy Wasserstein.
In “Third,” college professor Laurie Jameson encounters an unusual student in her class on “King Lear,” which leads to the multigenerational cast of characters expressing vastly different opinions on bias, success and academic integrity, all as they engage in spirited debates over “timeless” literature and current events. These conflicts force Laurie to deal with several upheavals in her family, workplace and firmly held ideals. “Third” was first produced off-Broadway in 2003.
Performances of “Third,” directed by Brendan Stackhouse, of Hoboken, will take place on Oct. 28 and 29, and Nov. 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 at 8 p.m.; and Oct. 30, and Nov. 6 and 12 at 2 p.m. at Nutley Little Theatre, 47 Erie Place in Nutley. Tickets can be purchased at nutleylittletheatre.com.
Performers include Penny Paul and Rachelle Rennagel, of Montclair; Alex Ward, of New York City; Jillian Mauro, of Warren; and Jim Simpson, of Bloomfield. Crew members include assistant director Ella Oleson, of New York City, and stage manager Susan Brody, of West Orange.
“Wendy Wasserstein was a brilliant playwright. She authored ‘The Heidi Chronicles’ — which won a Pulitzer — and ‘The Sisters Rosensweig,’” Paul told the Nutley Journal. “‘Third’ was her last play, and it captures the thoughts of a brilliant thinker at the end of her career who is taking stock of her life.
“The show reflects the time in which it was first written — during the first Gulf War — and you might be struck by the similarities to the present,” Paul continued. “There is a general lack of trust in government and academic institutions, and a growing malaise regarding the traditional metrics used to measure success. The younger people in the show are a lot like my own children, who are questioning the true value of an expensive private college education or whether protesting against the government actually does any good at all.”
According to Paul, the play manages to portray major existential issues while avoiding doom and gloom.
“The dialogue is smart and sparkling. There are moments of real humor and also of pathos. The plot closely parallels the plot of ‘King Lear,’ the play that Laurie is teaching that sets off the conflicts in the play,” Paul said. “Humans have been puzzling over these questions for years, and will continue to do so: Am I a good child or a good parent? Has my work made a difference in the world? Is it better to be right or to be loved? I hope everyone in the audience can relate to some of those questions — I know I do!”
According to the stage manager, this play really hits home.
“This play is lent extra poignancy by the fact that it was Wendy Wasserstein’s last — she finished writing it during her terminal illness, and its elegiac quality is hard to miss,” Brody said. “The protagonist, after 25 years of a trailblazing, feminist academic career, is brought up short by a male student who seems to meet none of her own scholarly criteria and yet turns in a brilliant paper on ‘King Lear.’ She jumps to conclusions and publicly accuses him of plagiarism. But then events within her own family force her for the first time to reexamine some of her most basic assumptions. The play is both thought provoking and funny, and the actors are all terrific.”
For Stackhouse, directing this play has been exciting, as he is working from a blank slate. Though the play is approximately 20 years old, Stackhouse has not had experience with previous stagings of “Third,” meaning this production truly hinges on his artistic influence and understanding of the events, as well as those of the cast and crew.
“Even though it was written in 2002 and reflects the political and cultural landscape of that time, the play is extremely timely,” Stackhouse told the Nutley Journal. “It has aged beautifully, and this seemed like a really good time to tell this story. I also love the complexity of the characters coupled with Wendy Wasserstein’s fantastic writing. She writes on a deeply intellectual level while still managing to be accessible.”
Simpson, who plays Jack Jameson, the protagonist professor’s father, has certainly drawn inspiration from today’s political scene for his performance.
“My character is older, 80s, has dementia, declines and dies over the course of the nine months of the play. Honestly, I’ve been studying our president” to prepare for this part, Simpson said. “The so-called culture wars really began decades ago among the college ‘professor-iat’ intellectuals. Wendy Wasserstein has written a clever, hard-hitting dramatization of the biases and hypocrisies latent in this conflict.”
To fill Laurie Jameson’s shoes, Paul needs to understand the character.
“I play Laurie Jameson, a professor at an elite New England college who takes great pride in her untraditional approach to literature, her career and what she sees as her trailblazing approach to feminism. Laurie’s point of view is challenged by her best friend, a new student and her daughter, who all try to show her that her dogma has limits and that she may need to start reevaluating her priorities,” Paul said. “As I am on stage for 85 percent of the play, I started memorizing my lines as soon as I was cast in August. The cast rehearses several times a week, and I have also been reading up on my Shakespeare, Jane Austen and other authors referenced in the play. I have a lot in common with my character: I went to an Ivy League college, my two kids are now grown, I am at the same stage in life — so, I understand personally at least some of what Laurie is going through.”
Stackhouse has greatly enjoyed working with the five cast members of this show, who have brought insight and compassion to the text.
“I work largely in musicals, so it’s been really rewarding and fun to work on a play, and it’s a whole different animal. We’ve been having some really amazing discussions so far and really dissecting moment by moment through the script, which has brought to light a lot of interesting discoveries,” Stackhouse said. “This company of actors is fantastic, and it’s been fascinating hearing them speak to their differing interpretations of certain moments.”
Just as each member of the cast and crew has taken away a message from the show, they hope audiences will both enjoy the show and be left thinking about it long after it ends.
“Everyone, no matter what their age or profession, can relate to issues like not understanding your family members of both older and younger generations, or wondering whether what you do really makes a difference in the world. I think people of all ages and backgrounds will appreciate the examination of these timeless topics,” Paul said. “I hope audiences will be entertained by the beautiful language of the play, which illustrates these universal themes through complicated and interesting characters and situations. I also hope audiences realize the joy of live theater again. Nutley Little Theatre, like so many local venues, closed during the pandemic. For actors, crew and audience members, it is so wonderful now to be able to gather together to enjoy art and community in person, the way these things are meant to be experienced.”
According to Simpson, he expects audiences to go through a range of emotions, ultimately leaving with an altered viewpoint.
“They’ll laugh, they’ll cry, they’ll question, they’ll think about the world around them a little differently,” Simpson said.
Ultimately, Stackhouse hopes this play will inform audience members on how to hold constructive dialogue regarding difficult topics.
“The play speaks volumes about open-mindedness in theory versus practice, and I think that, as a country, we struggle to find actionable ways to change or challenge our mindset,” Stackhouse said. “This play serves as a reminder of the dangers of having your viewpoints set in stone and unchallenged. I hope audiences leave with a renewed perspective on how to have productive discourse with those who might see things differently from themselves.”
Photos Courtesy of Penny Paul
Generations clash in new Nutley Little Theatre show added by Yael Katzwer on
View all posts by Yael Katzwer →