If the Jungle Theater has specialized in anything it’s the telling of emotional stories just this side—the good side—of sentimental. And with founder Bain Boehlke on sabbatical, we’re getting a glimpse into the likely future through the design and direction of his heir apparent, Joel Sass, the deft visual artist behind some of the Jungle’s most engaging shows.
Sass has given “Mary’s Wedding,” playing now through October 25, the full sensual treatment—it’s a literate romance novel come to life, in a good way, what “The English Patient” attempted onscreen and imagined here in 3-D. Set around World War I, the young Charlie and Mary fervently approach their wedding day—knowing full well that Charlie’s impending assignment to the front line is likely a one-way trip. The show is more poetic than plot-driven, a treatise on love and war—their relationship isn’t going anywhere, of course. And it becomes a visual spectacle through the choreography of Carl Flink, leader of the acclaimed Black Label Movement dance troupe. If you’ve been overwhelmed by cynicism and the small things lately, this manifesto on what really matters may be just the marriage between words and movement you need.
