NEW YORK—There’s a theory that the universe we live in exists side by side with a myriad of other universes, where the people and circumstances are all slightly different from the reality we personally inhabit. Playwright Nick Payne presents a very intriguing take on such possibilities in his work “Constellations,” now on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
The story focuses on Roland (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Marianne (Ruth Wilson), their initial chance meeting at a neighborhood barbecue, and the development of things thereafter or lack thereof. Roland is already in a relationship or just getting over one and not yet ready to re-enter the dating scene in some of the realities presented.
The switch from one universe to the next is done via lighting changes and the partial repeating of what was just said, while showing as many as six different versions of the same encounter. Sometimes additional dialogue is included so as to take the situation one step further than seen before.
