Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison

by Jordan Harrison

"A thought-provoking play about memory, its corruption and our insistence that technology help us outwit death."—The New York Times "It's the kind of experience that keeps unfolding in the mind long after the play is over."—Los Angeles TimesIn a future not far from our present, Marjorie spends her time rewriting her past in favor of her idealized memories, with help from the intriguingly innovative technology that allows her to do so. With deeply felt characters – both real and in the form of holograms or "Primes"—Jordan Harrison's widely acclaimed new play burrows into the most troubling questions of the digital are we replacing our memory with a false reality, and what does that mean about the preservation of the truth? Marjorie Prime ultimately asks whether manipulating our past is a corruption of history or a welcome consolation.Jordan Harrison's other plays include Maple and Vine, Doris to Darlene, Amazons and their Men, Act a Lady, Finn in the Underworld, Futura, Kid-Simple, The Museum Play, Standing on Ceremony, Suprema, and Fit for Feet. His children's musical, The Flea and the Professor, won the 2011 Barrymore Award for Best Production. Harrison is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University, a Theater Masters' Innovative Playwright Award, the Kesselring Prize, the Heideman Award, the Loewe Award for Musical Theater, Jerome and McKnight Fellowships from The Playwrights' Center, and a NEA/TCG Playwright-in-Residence Grant.

Genres: Plays, Science Fiction, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, Film, American

Paperback Bunko

First published January 17, 2014

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read and, for the most part, enjoyed virtually all of Harrison's published plays - but he has certainly surpassed himself with this 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist. This deceptively simple play posits a near future in which people can work out their residual problems with their loved ones after they've passed on, with AI replicas (primes) that pick up cues as to how their predecessors interacted with those remaining through dialogue that is naturalistic, yet slightly 'off'. Sheer brilliance, and I am eager to see the award-winning new film that has been made from it.

PS. Despite some rather odd casting (I'd have never thought of Jon Hamm as Walter - although thank the cinematic g-ds that Lois Smith was allowed to play the lead, as she did in the Bway production), the film is a wonderful realization of Harrison's play, and sticks fairly close to the source material. So seek it out, if you can find it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SccmZ...

[Vassa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most touching pieces of literature for me. The film made me cry, so did the play. It feels very personal, and very relevant right now.

Long ago, in a most wonderful place I will never go back to, I watched the film, and on now a faded piece of paper wrote the quote I liked, which is absent in the book, but I still want to leave it here:

When you remember something, you remember the memory. You remember the last time you remembered it, not the source. So it's always getting fuzzier, like a photocopy of a photocopy.

I was very happy in that place. I did not know back then, but now I remember.

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm emo

[Cobi · Rating 1 out of 5]

sci fi with the express purpose of being “thought-provoking” is honestly so fucking bad the vast majority of the time. and it’s always the same shit, it’s always someone looking at an advanced robot and going “you’re like me but . . . you’re not.” and then the takeaway is that like love is ineffable or family is inarticulable or the people you meet compose your self. you know what’s a great book is philip k dick’s Do Androids Dream . . . as soon as this semester is over i’m reading the morrissey autobiography and then i’m reading some more books by that philip k dick guy

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking science fiction set in the near future where "primes" exist - primes are lifelike AIs that we talk to and fill with stories and memories to "replace" our deceased loved ones and provide companionship.

A meditation on the nature of memory and reality as we tell ourselves and each other stories of a fictionalized past with the most painful and embarrassing parts removed.

[Megan Lindeboom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. Dark. Incredibly human while also non-human.

[Borum · Rating 4 out of 5]

블레이드러너나 스파이크 존즈의 Her 등에서 우리의 의식과 기억 그리고 정체성에 대해 던진 질문들이

이 작품에서 더욱더 현실적으로 다가오는 이유는

hologram AI라는 것 외에는 우리가 미래 시대에 있다는 것과

우리가 상대적으로 더 짧은 순간을 함께 보낸 연인을 잃는 것과

우리의 삶의 많은 부분을 만들어오고 더 오래 함께 한 가족을 잃는 것,

그리고 그 아픔을 어떻게 해서라도 치유하고 싶어하는 우리의 욕망을 반영하기에 더 절실하게 느껴진다.




영화에서 심리학자 William James의 기억 이론으로도 짧게 언급되었지만

최근 읽은 Michael Gazzaniga의 인지 뇌과학 저서에서도 다루었듯이

AI없이도 충분히 조작되고 입력될 수 있는 우리 기억의 불완전성에 대해 생각해보며

우리의 불완전한 기억에 토대를 잡은 우리의 정체성 또한 얼마나 허상에 불과한가 하며

짧은 우리의 생명보다 더 찰나적인 우리의 기억과 정체성 위에서

우리가 그토록 집착하는 것은 결국 무엇일까..하는 서글픔 속에서

시간과 끝없이 반복되는 fairy tale같은 추억 이야기 속에서

주인들 없이 남겨져 이제 필요가치도 없어진 AI들이 마치 허공에 대답하듯이 말한다.

"How nice that we could love somebody."



감정도 기억도 의식도 인공지능에 의해서 copy될 수 있는 인간에게는

불완전함만이 인간을 정의하는 것으로 남아있는 것인가?

아니면 그런 복제품을 필요로 할만큼 애틋하게 사랑할 수 있는 강한 본능이 인간을 정의하는 것이 아닐까?

만약 그렇다면 인공지능 홀로그램이 마지막에 말한 것은

인간들 본성의 메아리로 울려퍼지는 것일지도 모르겠다.



상당히 미니멀리스트인 연극 대본을 영화로 만들 때는 좀 불필요한 요소를 많이 넣는다는 생각이 들 때가 있는데

이 경우에도 약간 그 점이 좀 아쉬웠다. 물론 연극대본을 보지 않고 영화만 보았다면 그런 생각이 안들었을지 모르지만..

이래서 가끔 연극대본보다 단편소설을 영화로 만드는 게 나을 때가 많다.

[Yourfiendmrjones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just. Great. A perfect Black Mirror episode for the stage.

[Laur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why this was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Quite sad but also quite lovely in a strange way in relation to grief and loving your family despite of their flaws or perhaps in spite of their flaws.

It was a really cool concept, using artificial intelligence in a non robotic way to create these replicas of the person you loved - particularly in relation to the first Prime we meet and how he's essentially there to help a person who's memory is fading (likely due to dementia and age) and who has to learn about himself from other people. And then when we meet him again later in the play, even though we know more about what happened, he only remembers the things in which he was told, and he remembers what he was allowed to say and not allowed to say - or maybe he could interpret that by then.. I think some of that is left the audience or in this case the reader.

I think this would be a fantastic play to watch, and to direct, but it could also be quite hard on the audience depending on what state of grief or life they find themselves in, especially depending on how they put the show on.

I even liked the playwright's appendixes, I think they help show what kind of story he wanted to be telling, and add to the overall story too.

[Elisabetta Giromini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the show based on the text of Jordan Harrison at the Parenti Theater in Milan. Marjorie, an elderly Alzheimer patient (Ivana Monti), is flanked in daily life by a Prime, a robot she has decided to give the appearance of her husband Walter, who died years earlier. Thanks to artificial intelligence, Prime learns and fits into Marjorie’s family, keeping her company and helping her, while she forgets, to remember. The family dynamics that are established with the daughter and the son-in-law and the interaction of the robot that little by little, systematizing the information gathered from the speeches that he listens to, knows more than the people directly concerned, are fascinating and at the same time frightening developments. Can Artificial Intelligence help patients and families manage illness? Until what point? This text makes us think about a future, not futuristic, scenario: Marjorie could be my mother in twenty years … Where will we be with technology? Will she have her Prime?

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a beautiful play! Characters are fully developed and so believable-- I know these people. Some lovely surprises and brilliantly written. Our theater collective is producing it this season and I REALLY really, really want to play Tess. There will be lots of competition for that role, though, and whoever gets it, I am excited to see it on stage.

As I read, I started to realize I knew the story. It was one of the films I'd loved at the Phoenix Film Festival years ago. It's a wonderful movie, too. Based on the play, with additional scenes and characters added--of course. It's definitely worth watching too.

[Tracy Laulhere · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in an hour at a coffee shop. I don't usually read drama and, by definition, the genre omits a lot of what I "need" in a story. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the play and the deliberate decisions the playwright made in telling the story. The last few books I have read have commented on memory specifically and this one provided yet another description of its importance (or unimportance) in our lives.

[Paul LaFontaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An older woman with dementia engages with an AI mimicking her young husband as her daughter protests. When the old woman dies the daughter engaged with an AI of her mother. So it continues as the family dynamic and truth transcends each of their individual perspectives.

Great play, first of the AI genre. The concept of memory and truth is at play here. Interesting characters, short play. Really enjoyed it.

Highly recommend.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything by Jordan Harrison, especially the unsettling ones, but something is particularly unsettling about Marjorie Prime. It reminds me most of Museum Play, but with a connection I didn't quite get from reading that one. Perhaps it's just identifying too strongly with Tess, but I feel like I'm going to have to watch a lot of Ask a Mortician to feel even a little bit okay with death again.

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eerie and wrenching, Harrison’s quiet, conversational play explores the nuances of a family through the stories they tell, and alter, and forget, and remember. The construction, from scene to scene, act to act, is immaculate, bringing out little details, shifting unsettlingly, and the near-future speculation is well handled, but it’s the family drama, the family narrative, that really shines.

2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge
11. A book about forgetting.

[Terry McIntire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this before attending the play. Play is about AI recreations of loved ones directed at the elderly who are in some stage of dementia. Very well written in my opinion, especially the character of Marjorie. This technology is very likely coming to us in some form very soon and this is a very timely play. It will leave you thinking long after. Somewhat disturbing but important for us to think about as we and those around us age.

[Jocelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this performed in 2021 and sobbed in the theater for almost an hour. For anyone who has lost a parent or loved one, this can hit very hard. I wanted to revisit the play in written form to see if it held up to my memories and found myself crying again just reading the print copy. The are some beautiful lines and poetic realizations that I’m so happy to have experienced again. I cannot recommend this play enough.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this blind and during the first scene assumed Walter was a figment of her dementia brain, but I really liked the concept of the "Primes" as AI companions, and the concept that by talking about something we create a reality - or a person indeed. This is a very quick read and has good moments of drama, but is also a good spark for discussion.

[Saurav Shukla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marjorie Prime didn’t leave much of an impression on me as a reader, honestly. While there were ideas I liked and scenes I wished had been explored in greater depth, the overall execution fell short. It’s the kind of science fiction I usually enjoy, but the ideas discussed felt a little too shallow for me to fully appreciate.

The concept of how technology can help people cope with grief while simultaneously keeping them emotionally stuck in a particular moment in time is an incredible premise. I only wish it had been explored more thoroughly. It’s a theme I’d love to see expanded upon in other books.

[Brooklyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for bookclub - because we are seeing play. Will be interested to see a production (it’s been a film too) since I’ve read the play. In the near future - humans have created realistic robots who reproduce people - by telling them facts and characteristics from the living. People who have passed. Thoughts about being human - aging - mortality - families.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

June Squibb, in her 90s, is starring in this show on Broadway, and I'm fascinated by the element of A.I. in stories, so I thought I'd like to read the play. It feels like a long one-act because it moves so briskly. I'll check out the film version if it appears on any of my streaming services. I'm reminded, too, of "Maybe Happy Ending," which won the Best Musical Tony this year. Well done.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will robots make us less lonely in the future? Or help us remember our fading pasts? Beautiful, taut, twisting, minimal story of four members of a family and a possible future of the human race that echoes and amplifies Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains." Aching and haunting.

[Si Squires-Kasten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drop everything you're doing and read this play. It takes one simple science-fiction premise and follows it through to devastating and surprising conclusions. I was affected so much just reading it, I can't imagine how broken I’d feel after seeing it performed.

[Janeli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the play and the movie! The play contained many more scenes that were taken out of the movie but the movie is pretty much similar to the play! Loved how this play showed the effects technology has on everyday people and how it’s not easy to replace someone with technology.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does embracing a simulacrum bring you closer to another person, even after the person has died? It feels that way in this play. As a species, we fall for representations that get the basics right, but I hadn't thought of that as a way to bring closure to grief.

[Ethan Li]

tells a compelling story that deals with artificial intelligence by grounding it in the characters memories and grief. i think second stage's broadway production might end up being one of the highlights of the 2025-26 season (currently hoping for jayne houdyshell or maryann plunkett as marjorie)

[Colin Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jordan Harrison's Marjorie Prime is a quick but utterly engaging play that uses many noticeable and familiar science fiction motifs to stage an elongated conversation about grief, resentment, and relationships. "Primes" are digitally projected A.I. constructs that allow users to converse with deceased friends, family members, and lovers. Throughout the play, characters interact with Primes as a way of exercising past traumas and unresolved conflicts. What a Prime knows is to some degree contingent on its user. Throughout the play, there are suggestions that Primes arrive prefabricated. A Prime is not necessarily a tabula rasa.

Harrison's greatest accomplishment is the way in which he conceptualizes characters and character development throughout the play. Main characters die but return as Primes, which allows Harrison to have a broader conversation about identity and selfhood in digitally constructed environments. The play concludes with three Primes sitting together, musing aimlessly about their existence. In this scene, the Primes interact with varying degrees of playful affection for one another, something their human counterparts did not do. The play's final line is a clear reference to Damian, Marjorie and Walter's son who died as a child before the play begins, and Toni Two, the family dog who died with Damien:

Marjorie: How I miss them.
Walter: I didn't mean to make you sad.
Marjorie: You didn't. All I can think is how nice.
How nice that we could love somebody.

When Marjorie references love, what are the ramifications of this declaration? Primes are learning machines, but is Harrison suggesting that A.I. can love? Furthermore, to what degree do Primes feel what their human counterparts felt? Are they approximating such feelings by using language, or are they parroting those feelings through linguistic utterances?

But the most upsetting and thrilling aspect of Marjorie Prime is the suggestion that Primes are happier and more content than their human counterparts. I hesitate to use language like "happy" and "content" because Harrison doesn't explicitly explain whether or not Primes are capable of such feelings, which leaves me to ask a simple question the play refusing to resolve: would a digital rendering of myself be better at being me?

[Randall David Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subtle, smart, clever, provocative.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this play and loved reading it. Memory and identity. Grief and robots. Who could ask for more?

[Girl Underground · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfect way to follow Caitlin Doughty's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory." Moving, thoughtful, and thought provoking.