Many people at "Legacy of Light" seemed to be having a better time than I was having.
This 2009 play by Karen Zacarías is being asked to serve several purposes. It's the Acts of Faith Festival contribution of Barksdale at Willow Lawn. It's play No. 2 in Barksdale's Hispanic Theatre Project. It's a collaborative effort with Theatre VCU.
One thing it's not is "honored with the Best New Play of the Year recognition from the American Theatre Critics Association," as the program mistakenly states. It did win a citation from the ATCA as a runner-up to "Equivocation" by Bill Cain, which ATCA named the best American script that premiered professionally outside New York City in 2009.
"Legacy of Light" is an imaginative and thought-provoking look at the life choices of intelligent women but, for me, it is overly ambitious, taking on too many subjects with too much whimsy.
"Legacy of Light" follows gifted intellectuals in two eras, disclosing unexpected connections between them. There is the historical figure Émilie du Châtelet, an 18th-century French noblewoman who was a physicist and mathematician, a wife and mother, and the longtime companion of the philosopher Voltaire. At the play's opening, she's 42, pregnant by a younger lover, and fearful of dying in childbirth.
Her 21st-century counterpart is Olivia, an American astrophysicist who has been left infertile after an illness. She's nearly 40, has just discovered what may be a new planet, and is contemplating motherhood via surrogacy. Zacarías uses the parallels between their situations to consider women's roles, the life of the mind, the meaning of family and larger philosophical concerns.
There's no faulting the acting or stagecraft here — all the players do fine work, Bruce Miller's direction is expert, and the technical elements are lush. Betsy Muller's scenic design is beautiful, Lynne M. Hartman's lighting design is excellent, J. Theresa Bush's costumes — especially the period ones — are gorgeous, and Kevin Inouye contributes top-notch fight choreography.
Tamara Johnson's Émilie is lively and intelligent, and Larry Cook is amusing as Voltaire. Patricia Duran shows Olivia's inner conflict — she's assured in her profession and a mess about parenthood. And Ricardo Melendez radiates solidity as her husband, Peter.
Martha Johnson tries hard but can't redeem the role of the surrogate mom — she's saddled with quirks and an annoying catchphrase. But Maggie Horan shines in her brief turn as Pauline, Émilie's 15-year-old daughter.
Despite the talent on display, most of the characters simply didn't seem like real people. And I might have believed more in Émilie's brilliance if I had seen it rather than heard Voltaire explain it. But that's just me.
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