Constellation's 'Maple and Vine' offers escape from modern life—with a darkly comic twist

Take in Constellation Stage & Screen's upcoming production of “Maple and Vine” and you can see firsthand that returning to a “simpler” time isn't necessarily as simple as it seems.

Constellation's Artistic Director Chad Rabinovitz and Associate Artistic Director Daniella Wheelock selected the work by playwright Jordan Harrison for the 2024-2025 season. Rabinovitz saw “Maple and Vine” produced several years ago and it stuck with him. “[This is] a play that masterfully explores nostalgia, identity, and the cost of escaping modern life,” he notes.

Theatergoers follow “Maple and Vine” characters Katha and Ryu, played by Megan Massie and Jeremy Rafal, respectively, as they eschew the 21st-century rat race. After a mysterious encounter with a member of the “Society of Delayed Obsolescence,” the couple moves to an intentional community where it's continually 1955. “[Harrison] challenges us to consider what we gain—and what we sacrifice—when we seek refuge in the past,” Rabinovitz adds.

A Guggenheim Fellow, Harrison has written extensively for the stage, as well as for the Netflix original TV series “Orange is the New Black.” Harrison's play “Maple and Vine” originally premiered in 2011 at the 35th Annual Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville. That year, it also ran off-Broadway in New York. 

“I feel like it's probably even more relevant now than it was in 2011,” says Ansley Valentine, a professor at IU’s Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance and director of the Bloomington production. “We've just had a lot more discussion about, you know, folks looking back at some time when they thought America was better and life was easier.”

For its part, The New York Times characterized “Maple and Vine” as a “comic drama” and called it “darkly playful.” (Turns out, 1955 isn't all Elvis-the-Pelvis and poodle skirts.) “Hopefully it's thought-provoking,” Valentine says. “There's a lot about it that's funny, but it also does have some serious themes.”

Those themes include racism, sexism, and homophobia. The script also contains some racist and homophobic slurs, as well as discussions about sex and miscarriage. “Maple and Vine” is recommended for ages 16 and older.

“I certainly would hope folks would question the whole idea of [whether there was] a better time within America,” Valentine says. “And, if you do believe that [things were better], well, it was better for whom? And what do you give up if you decide, 'I want to embrace the country going back to some quote simpler time'?”

“That's really the central question in the play,” he continues. “It's like, 'What do you give up? What are you willing to give up?' and then, 'What does that mean?' After you give it up, will that make you happy?”

Although Valentine has directed for Bloomington's Cardinal Stage Company in the past, the “Maple and Vine” production is his first directorial project under the auspices of Constellation Stage & Screen. Constellation is the result of a 2022 merger of Cardinal Stage Company, the Bloomington Playwrights Project, and the Pigasus Institute.

“Maple and Vine” is Constellation's 20th production to date. Performances will be held at 107 W. 9th St. in Bloomington. (That spot formerly housed the Bloomington Playwrights Project and is now known as Constellation Playhouse.) Of the space Valentine notes, “It's not huge. It's very intimate, but there's not a bad seat in the house.”

In addition to Massie and Rafal, actors Scott Russell, Bobby Ayala Perez, and Christine Zavakos perform in the Constellation production. “Hopefully people will buckle in and go on the ride with us,” Valentine says.

“Maple and Vine” is set to run from Thursday, March 27 through Sunday, April 13. For tickets visit Constellation's website, or call (812) 336-9300 Monday through Friday between noon and 5 p.m.