I never got to see Red Turnip Theater’s 2016 staging of Nick Payne’s Constellations, I came into this new production by Stages and Music Artes at the Mirror Studio with no expectations. What interested me about this revival is that Constellations is a two-hander, a play with only two actors, but through the vision of director Kiara Pipino, it is reimagined with three actors sharing the two roles of the beekeeper Roland and the quantum physicist Marianne. Topper Fabregas, Jenny Jamora, and Missy Maramara take turns tackling the multitude of vignettes that compose Nick Payne’s play, which revolve around the infinite possibilities of these two characters’ lives.
The play centers on Roland and Marianne, and we witness their first meeting at a friend’s barbecue, a scene that replays itself repeatedly with subtly different outcomes. As they fall in love and as the play unfolds, we witness the multitudes of possibilities that can happen in a relationship, grounded by Marianne’s work in quantum physics, string theory, and cosmology, which posits the existence of parallel universes. Across these intersecting realities, that we are seeing shows Roland and Marianne coming together, breaking up, reconnecting, and eventually dealing with Marianne’s diagnosis of a tumor in her frontal lobe that progressively makes it difficult for her to speak. While all these variations unfold as one continuous narrative, this staging uses a swap in actors to signal the shifting of the scenes from one scene, and reality, to the next.
A scene can begin with Fabregas as Roland and Jamora as Marianne and once the scene ends, Jamora sits down on the bare set – a triangular platform, right underneath a gorgeous aerial filled with fairy lights – as Fabregas seamlessly transitions into Marianne and Maramara steps in as Roland. Throughout the play, the trio never leaves the stage, only making themselves scarce and unobtrusive whenever the other two take the scene. They each take turns playing Roland and Marianne, and the effect this has on the play’s overall theme is expansive.
Across these variations – where in one breakup Roland is unfaithful and in another it is Marianne, or where Roland seeks to reconnect at a dance class in one timeline while, Roland wants to rekindle their romance and in another, while Marianne initiates it in the next – having three actors rotate roles expands the multiplicity of possibilities to encompass all genders and gender expressions. Through this fluid casting Constellations welcomes everybody into its orbit, declaring that “this could happen to anyone.”
The play, as it is, is a demanding one on its actors. Immediately after a scene ends, while still on stage, they must attack the same scene but with different motivations, and steer toward a different outcome. Even with just two actors, it’s already a challenge. Here, Fabregas, Jamora, and Maramara must pivot between characters as well. It’s a real showcase of the three’s impressive acting prowess, never missing a beat, keeping each scene feeling spontaneous and of that moment. They establish an intuitive rhythm that that allows each scene to just flow seamlessly from one possibility to the next. Their chemistry with each other is so strong that the character relationships stay consistent regardless of who is playing whom or what the scene asks of them to do and feel.
Over the past five years, the zeitgeist has given us a plethora of films about the multiverse – from the blockbusters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the Academy Award-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once – making the concept that is hard to grasp. Having premiered in 2012, Payne’s play predates this fascination for alternate realities but by putting the focus on one relationship through its beginning and tragic end, Constellations really invites us to ponder on what it means to make the most out of life.
With the three actors playing two characters, and Pipino’s directorial touch of uniting them as a trio for the final act, I felt the urge to settle any of my misgivings about the reality that I have found myself in, complete with all my choices, both the ones I love and the ones I regret. And have vowed to do my best to take action and make this the best of all possible realities. The production hit me far harder than I anticipated; watching three different performers playing the same character gave me the impression that there are many aspects of myself that have yet to come out and take the lead. It is a weird, profound thought and one that stayed with me all day after watching the play.
And when a play can do that, I consider it very successful.
My Rating: 5 Stars
Two characters. Three actors. Infinite possibilities. Don’t miss Topper Fabregas, Jenny Jamora, and Missy Maramara in Constellations at 3/F Mirror Studio Theater on November 13–15 and November 20–22! Grab your tickets now via tinyurl.com/ConstellationsMNL2026
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