The Vanguard Theater is putting on a production of Marjorie Prime.
Marjorie Prime was written by playwright Jordan Harrison, a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist and writer and producer for three seasons of the Netflix show Orange is the New Black.
The play is about an 85-year-old woman named Marjorie who is living her elder years in the age of artificial intelligence.
Marjorie’s memory is depleting due to dementia and she is finding herself struggling with this reality.
Her daughter and son-in-law purchase her a hologram of her deceased husband called a prime, which is programmed to tell her the story of her life back to her. The prime gathers information from the family to better determine the history of her husband and to recount the story.
According to the play synopsis, Marjorie Prime is a play that explores the mysteries of human identity and the limits, if any, of what technology can replace.
“It’s a play about technology. It’s a futuristic take on how we have let technology steal our humanity,” Melanie Hollis, lecturer of theater and costumer, said.
The play will run from Feb. 22-26 in the Vanguard Little Theater in the Fine Arts Building.
Students can purchase tickets online at https://www.utm.edu/departments/finearts/tickets.php for $10.
Community members can purchase tickets for $15 in the Visual and Theatre Arts main office in Fine Arts room 201 from 8 a.m- 5 p.m.
The matinee performance on Feb. 24 will begin at 3 p.m. and all other performances will begin at 8 p.m. The theater will open 30 minutes before the show begins and the box office will open one hour before each performance.
For further questions, you can call the Visual and Theatre Arts department at 731-881-7400.
The Vanguard Theatre puts on plays each semester. For a list of events related to the Vanguard Theatre check out the website https://www.utm.edu/departments/finearts/vanguard/index.php.
