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Jake Gyllenhaal's Star Power Shines in Constellations

In Constellations, British playwright’s Nick Payne’s first work to reach Broadway, the cards are stacked and restacked in quantitatively engaging formations. Take for example the characters. Just two. He’s a beekeeper; she’s a quantum physicist –– an intriguing yin/yang love story if ever there was one. Add to this the trajectory of Payne’s script that “defies the boundaries of the world we think we know – delving into the infinite possibilities of their relationship and raising questions about the difference between choice and destiny.”

If this is starting to sound a little heady, rest assured the 80-minute show is rich with humor and human insight. Plus there’s Constellations, buoyantly theatrical scene-scape: a visual cacophony of balloons, some lit from within, that illuminate the imagination as much as they do the stage.

The production marks the reuniting of Payne with leading man Jake Gyllenhaal and director Michael Longhurst, who collaborated on the U.S. premiere of Payne’s If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet. Playing opposite Gyllenhaal is British actress Ruth Wilson, the final count being a quartet of Broadway debuts.

Jake Gyllenhaal makes his Broadway debut in Constellations. Photo: Nino Munoz

According to Longhurst, who also directed the highly acclaimed London production of Constellations, “The backstop of the play is that we are all part of a tiny universe made up of parallel universes where everything is happening both simultaneously and differently.”

He goes on to note that this is something theoretical physicists came up with to create the concept of extra dimensions. “Nick taps into all this in a very economical way,” he continues. “The script really moves from humor to heartbreak in all these worlds where these two characters have just themselves. It’s a dance in which they are angling and re-angling themselves.” A dance that Longhurst is totally into choreographing, especially since the dancers are Gyllenhaal and Wilson. “Jake is such an emotional and intelligent actor – and he’s incredibly funny,” says Longhurst, who appreciates the fact that a noted film actor is adept at “working a full house.” As for Wilson, until now she and Longhurst have had more of a nostalgic relationship than a professional one. “We went to university together [in Nottinghamshire, England], and since then I’ve watched her work. She’s amazing.”

Constellations is playing through March 15th at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 W. 47th Street. To reserve tickets visit manhattantheatreclub.com

About the Author

City Guide Theatre Editor Griffin Miller moved to New York to pursue an acting/writing career in the 1980s after graduating magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, she has written for The New York Times, For the Bride, Hotels, and a number of other publications, mostly in the areas of travel and performance arts. An active member of The New York Travel Writers Association, she is also a playwright and award-winning collage artist. In addition, she sits on the board of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Griffin is married to Richard Sandomir, a reporter for The New York Times.

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