Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

Carol Rosegg ©2025  Marcella Goheen

A mystery.  A real one.  A startling and gruesome family secret stagnated in silence, hidden for generations.  Directed by Larry Moss and developed, written and performed by Marcella Goheen, The Maria Project, is a true story which follows Marcella as she unravels these secrets: what happened to her maternal grandmother Maria“ Why does Marcella’s mother know nothing about Maria? How has Maria been erased?

The seventy-five minute performance focuses on Marcella sharing her rather cyclical journey of how she unearthed the truth about Maria.  She does this primarily by directly addressing the audience. Sometimes Marcella briefly plays other family members, sometimes projections of real family members disclose information, sometimes she interacts with the projections, and sometimes she verbally dictates letters to family members.  This varied approach helps keep the production’s pace up, though the rules of why Marcella decides to use different approaches at specific times aren’t necessarily clear or rigorous.

Marcella’s performance is warm, poised, and enthusiastic.  Perhaps a smidge overly so. I couldn’t help thinking that she could easily engage a much bigger house.  This underlines Marcella’s need to reveal this story; she is clearly called to speak the truth of her family’s past.  There is urgency and energy in her rich, clear voice (and her diction is fantastic!). Her lightness buoyed what could have been an incredibly dark, violent evening. 

Yet, I wished that Marcella would let herself get off balance.  At times, the play veers a bit into lecture land, particularly when Marcella gets into nitty-gritty genealogy.  I longed for Marcella’s silence and for when the words cost too much to speak.  When does she have to whisper?  When does she have to hold back?  Currently Marcella is emotionally very in control, which mitigates the overall impact of the production in my opinion and keeps it predominantly one color.  Perhaps this is also linked to a larger conversation of the difference between storytelling and theatre as well… 

On the whole Moss’ direction was very clean; there is a fine flow to the performance.  The production is quite digestible; which is somewhat odd considering the horrific secret at its center.  I do applaud both Moss and Marcella for their minimalist aesthetic choices.  They remind us of the possibility and beauty of an empty space, and also allow for nothing to compete with Marcella’s words or our imaginations. 

Touching upon themes of communication, family, forgiveness, race, history, and truth, The Maria Project lands in a healing spot.  The true story and secret (which I won’t divulge) are fascinating and should be told.  But I have to reiterate- I wished Marcella’s emotional journey was further examined and mined deeper for an even more theatrical experience.