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Theater Review: Brilliant performances deliver quirky intimacy of ‘Heisenberg’

By Jim Lowe
TIMES ARGUS
The title of the play “Heisenberg” may be a bit misleading. What Werner Heisenberg, the German theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum mechanics, can have to do with the delicious and deliciously performed romantic comedy currently playing at Northern Stage in White River Junction, is a puzzler — at first.

But when Georgie and Alex meet at a London train station there is a decided chemical reaction — not the usual sexual chemistry — but one that is intense with the premonition of explosion.

The fuse is ignited when Georgie happens on Alex, who has never seen her before, and impulsively — or not — kisses him on the back of his neck. While this could be the beginning of one of those sweet romantic comedies with a happy ending — marriage, of course — it isn’t.

For one, Alex is a 75-year-old lonely Irish-born butcher whose life is one long routine, while Georgie is a loud, aggressive, 42-year-old who is potentially psychotic and seemingly unable to tell the truth. They separate as Alex is repulsed — or is he?

Of course, Georgie does the pursuing, but Alex isn’t entirely unwilling. What ensues is a complex and intriguing and dramatic pas des deux that leaves them — and the audience — guessing to the end, and then …

The beauty of this intimate comedy is that two almost hopelessly repressed people manage to help each other break out and discover a different outlook on life. And it’s very, very funny.

Thursday’s performance, one week into the run through March 6, was deeply touching and most entertaining. Directed by Sarah Elizabeth Wansley, Northern Stage’s production was beautifully cast.

Jamie Horton’s near deadpan as Alex, barely covering a dry wry wit, was the perfect foil for Monica Orozco’s charismatically outrageous Georgie, belying a yearning tenderness. And this is where the real chemistry came in: Orozco and Horton interacted with an irresistible awkwardness barely covering their inner feelings. Rather than being superficially charming, it was deeply so.

An original score by Tommy Crawford, a composer new to the area, imaginatively and successfully underscored the play. He recorded the music for piano and cello with cellist Eric Love, Northern Stage’s education director. (Unfortunately, the work by J.S. Bach referenced by the characters could barely be heard.)

Northern Stage’s physical production was as polished as ever, but perhaps overproduced for this intimate show. The playwright’s script asks for a bare stage, but Sasha Schwarz’s impressive moving set went from suggesting an industrial location to urban New Jersey. However, after 15 minutes watching these brilliant actors, I never noticed the set again.

However, Amy Rebecca Sutton’s perfectly appropriate costuming and Mary Eleanor Stebbins’ subtle and effective lighting were essential to this beautiful storytelling.

Perhaps we, too, will meet someone who changes our life.

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