off by one at People’s Light

Myra is trying to deal with the death of Douglas, a poet she met many years ago and she is struggling as she tries to send texts to the man’s son. But she has inadvertently sent the texts to a young woman, Fran, who she doesn’t even know, because she sent the messages to the wrong area code- she is off by one digit, sending it to 213 rather than 212. And that is the name of the new play, “off by one,” a world premiere by Joseph Dougherty at People’s Light in Malverne.

On another part of the stage is Douglas, a lonely old man who is not dead yet but is reflecting on the inevitable in the cabin-like home he bought 30 years earlier, at the far end of Long Island, after his wife died. He is a poet, who never achieved the recognition he sought. He is smart. He is insightful. But he is clearly nearing the end of his life. Time is fluid as we move back and forth before and after he died.

What is so fascinating about this play is that even though much of the it is built around Douglas (David Strathairn) and his decline, it is the response of Fran (Claire Inie-Richard) that drives the play as she strives to learn about Myra and contacts her. Fran’s boyfriend Matthew (Aubie Merrylees) is none-too-pleased with Fran’s attempt to find a special meaning in her life by connecting with Myra. They argue. He’s a pragmatist. “The universe doesn’t care,” he says. “It’s about what is and isn’t.”

But life is complicated. Each person tries to find meaning in their own special way. Douglas’s life as a poet, then as a hermit while he still tried to write and publish, is haunting. And there is that summer, decades before, when Myra came to his place to help him organize his writing. What really happened? It is a story unto itself.

Also complicated is Fran’s life. She is a dreamer and thinks there is much more meaning in life since getting those texts meant for someone else. She believes she has received them for some mystical reason. She fights with Mathew who is rather inflexible and but she finds joy when she connects and then visits Myra.

It’s one of those plays where we wonder what would have happened if … There are fascinating, albeit confusing times, when memory and time are significant parts of the story.

The play is 1:35 long, without an intermission, but I am sad to say, it felt much longer. Ironically, I would prefer that playwright, Dougherty make it a two-act play and give us more- more about Douglas and his relationship with his wife Carol before she died, more about his relationship with his son, more about Myra. But most off all, I would like, what seemed to be two separate plays, to have been better integrated.

Strathairn, a popular actor from film and television, was great. All the actors were superb. The set by Daniel Zimmerman was strong. And the ideas in the play were most interesting. It’s worth a look even though I hope Dougherty will continue to develop the play.

“off by one” by Joseph Dougherty, at People’s Light, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, PA 19355, 610-644-3500, peopleslight.org   Thru July 7, 2024