{"id":2191862,"date":"2025-12-09T02:35:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T02:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2191862"},"modified":"2025-12-09T02:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T02:35:13","slug":"marjorie-prime-review-96-year-old-june-squibb-is-a-marvel-in-an-early-highlight-of-the-broadway-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/marjorie-prime-review-96-year-old-june-squibb-is-a-marvel-in-an-early-highlight-of-the-broadway-season\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Marjorie Prime&#8217; review: 96-year-old June Squibb is a marvel in an early highlight of the Broadway season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F12%2F116993430.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--review alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n\t\t<span class=\"inline-module--review__eyebrow subsection-heading-semi__label\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tTheater review\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"inline-module--review__title subsection-heading-semi\">\n\t\t\tMARJORIE PRIME\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rating\">\n<div class=\"rating__stars\">\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>1 hour, 20 minutes, no intermission. Hayes Theater, 240 W. 44th St.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>From the moment June Squibb takes the stage at the Hayes Theater in \u201cMarjorie Prime,\u201d you feel lucky to be in her presence.<\/p>\n<p>The stage and screen legend is back home on Broadway, where she got her start in \u201cGypsy\u201d opposite Ethel Merman in 1960, for the first time in eight years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In between being on the boards, she\u2019s been hard at work making films, giving wonderful lead performances in \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/01\/26\/entertainment\/a-94-year-old-badass-is-a-sundance-highlight-in-thelma\/\">Thelma<\/a>\u201d and \u201cEleanor the Great.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At a spry 96 years old, Squibb is, at long last, in her title-character era.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The actress is astonishing as a widow named Marjorie in the superb revival of Jordan Harrison\u2019s haunting science-fiction drama that opened Monday night.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--columnist inline-module--more--thirds\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading subsection-heading subsection-heading--single-line \">\n\t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"subsection-heading__sub\">Johnny Oleksinski<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Much in the same way Squibb has only gotten finer with age, so too has Harrison\u2019s complex 11-year-old play about artificial intelligence, its possibilities and the deeply intrusive role it could have \u2014 hell, it already does \u2014 in our own lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Eighty-five-year-old Marjorie sits in a comfy arm chair and speaks to Walter (Christopher Lowell), a friendly robot, called a Prime, that perfectly resembles her late husband when he was in his 20s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Prime says he exists to \u201cprovide comfort.\u201d Hmm, OK.<\/p>\n<p>He hears her happy stories, absorbs facts, learns her personality and develops his own. He\u2019s a kind of ChatGrievePT.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>June Squibb is a marvel in \u201cMarjorie Prime\u201d on Broadway. <span class=\"credit\">Joan Marcus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lowell is very funny and a little \u201cTwilight Zone\u201d as the android when he glides into the room with a ballerina\u2019s grace. His silky voice could definitely give you directions on the highway.<\/p>\n<p>The flesh-and-code pair chat in the green living room of Lee Jellinek\u2019s set, which is an ideal color for sci-fi \u2014 futuristic, relaxing and sinister.<\/p>\n<p>Marjorie, who is Gen X, is smitten with the CPU. Everybody wants someone to talk to, right? And more importantly, they need someone who listens.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But her daughter Tess, played by a raw and powerful Cynthia Nixon, distrusts the technology. She refers to Walter as \u201cit\u201d \u2014 not \u201che.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Marjorie (Squibb) talks to Walter Prime (Christopher Lowell), a robot version of her late husband. <span class=\"credit\">Joan Marcus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tess\u2019 husband, Jon (Danny Burstein), is the Switzerland of the group. He observes Walter jogging the memories of Marjorie, who suffers from dementia, and giving her spirit a boost. What could be the harm?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Well, it\u2019s a play. So there\u2019s harm aplenty. Gradually it becomes clear that the Primes aren\u2019t providing much comfort at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Their hurt users look to them for closure, to fill a void and wrap up unfinished and difficult conversations. They want them to <em>be<\/em> the deceased.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Yet the devices are obviously not the multilayered, messy people they\u2019re modeled after. They\u2019re a fake version of who someone thinks their loved one was.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That is an extremely clever spin on a frequent theme of American drama: that we never really know our parents.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Danny Burstein and Cynthia Nixon are devastating as married couple Jon and Tess. <span class=\"credit\">Joan Marcus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Especially impressive is how director Anne Kauffman has taken three of New York\u2019s best-known actors with giant personalities \u2014 a Tevye, a Miranda and a do-it-with-a-switch Electra \u2014 and made them into one of Broadway\u2019s best and most natural ensembles.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Nixon plays Tess as an everydaughter and everymom whose palpable stress over her mother\u2019s health and 20-something kids\u2019 careers throws us off the scent of what\u2019s really raging in her mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And just when we think Burstein\u2019s calm-and-collected Jon is only around to facilitate a parent-child tale, the empathetic actor reduces the whole house into a puddle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When they\u2019re all onstage together, their fame fades into a hyper-realistic family.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cMarjorie Prime\u201d is an early highlight of the Broadway season. <span class=\"credit\">Joan Marcus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A reductive question people often ask is: Why do this play now?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The answers for \u201cMarjorie Prime\u201d are pretty easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Harrison\u2019s story is topical, that\u2019s for sure. Frighteningly so. What elevates it above the ripped-from-the-headlines hackery of, say, so many political dramas co-written by Wikipedia is that it\u2019s also profoundly human and lump-in-the-throat relatable without ever toppling over into boo-hoo sentimentality.<\/p>\n<p>The play exposes its audience\u2019s emotional weaknesses like few others do. I reckon that most ticket-buyers will silently ask themselves if they would buy a Prime if they had the chance. And they\u2019d probably be uncomfortable with their honest answer.<\/p>\n<p>And then there\u2019s Squibb. She and Marjorie are a salt-and-margarita pairing. The actress has a dough-eyed Midwestern neighborliness to her that contrasts the dark and painful secrets Marjorie is hiding.\u00a0 She\u2019s whip-smart, lovable and ultimately heartbreaking.<\/p>\n<p>How fortunate we are to be here during June\u2019s prime.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Theater review MARJORIE PRIME 1 hour, 20 minutes, no intermission. Hayes Theater, 240 W. 44th St. From the moment June Squibb takes the stage at the Hayes Theater in \u201cMarjorie Prime,\u201d you feel lucky to be in her presence. The stage and screen legend is back home on Broadway, where she got her start in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2191863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[344468,338134,21741,339789,21912,350667,24047,345886],"class_list":["post-2191862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-broadway","tag-cynthia-nixon","tag-entertainment","tag-june-squibb","tag-movies","tag-plays","tag-theater","tag-theater-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Marjorie-Prime-review-96-year-old-June-Squibb-is-a-marvel-in.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2191862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2191862"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2191862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2191864,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2191862\/revisions\/2191864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2191863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2191862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2191862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2191862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}