Constellation Stage & Screen debuted its adaptation of Jordan Harrison’s “Maple and Vine” on Thursday to a sold-out audience at the Constellation Playhouse.
The original production by Harrison premiered in 2011 at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky, before moving Off-Broadway to Playwrights Horizons in New York later that year.
The story follows Katha and Ryu, a modern biracial couple who, after becoming disillusioned with their fast-paced urban lives, are drawn into a community that has recreated 1955 America in meticulous detail — on the corner of Maple Drive and Vine Street. As they immerse themselves in the rigid social structures and traditions of the past, they discover both the allure and the darker realities of nostalgia. The play explores themes of conformity, identity and the complexities of longing for a supposedly simpler time.
The Constellation play is directed by Ansley Valentine, head of the graduate directing program at IU, with Jacobs School of Music alumnus Jeremy Rafal playing the role of Ryu and Megan Massie as his wife, Katha.
Valentine said the play speaks to a lot of themes that are part of America’s current cultural landscape.
“This whole Make America Great Again idea, people believe there was time when America was better,” he said. “The characters in this play attempt to go back to a version of the 1950s, and the question is: ‘Was it actually great?’”
The shift to the mid-twentieth century included all the social norms prevalent at the time. The play highlighted themes of rigid gender roles, the suppression of homosexuality and the systemic racism that shaped daily life, revealing the constraints of a society that prioritized conformity over individual freedom. The Playhouse lobby featured a pair of easels that provided historical context on these topics, educating the audience on the realities of 1950s society.
Valentine said the cast and crew watched a lot of ’50s TV shows like “Leave It to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” to get a sense of the era.
“We also considered how people today actually imagine the 1950s,” he said. “That combination of research and modern assumptions about the past factors into the humor of the play, especially as the characters try to walk and talk like they’re from another time.”
Valentine said it was challenging to fit the production in Constellation’s small stage, with the play portraying 32 scenes set in nearly as many locations. He said without a stage that can physically transform, the crew had to get creative in the presentation of the shifts in time periods.
Strategic overhead lighting cues and narration subtly guided the audience between different locations within the same stage, providing seamless transitions for more fluid storytelling.
After the intermission, the set of “Maple and Vine” transported audiences to a meticulously recreated 1950s American home, complete with mid-century modern furniture, vintage appliances, and period-accurate décor. The living space featured warm wooden tones and a pastel color palette. Wardrobe and costumes further immersed the audience in the era, with men in sharp, tailored suits or casual cardigans, while women wore cinched-waist dresses.
Lorna Johnson, an audience member who had previously seen Constellation’s showing of “Misery” with her daughter, said she enjoyed the play.
“What stood out to me was how things in the ‘50s weren’t so much easier,” Johnson said. “Just how things transpired and how people dealt with them.”
Mariam Campbell, an older audience member, said the play reminded her of her own childhood.
“I don’t remember much from those days, but it was very similar to how I grew up,” she said. “Everything was put together so well.”
Valentine said people today have a nostalgic longing for a time when they believe things were simpler or better, and the play explores the reality that life is complicated no matter the era.
“Hopefully, the audience walks away with the understanding that the present is the time we have,” he said. “And we should make the best of it rather than trying to retreat into an imagined past.”
“Maple and Vine” will run through April 13 at the Constellation Playhouse and tickets can be purchased from the Constellation website.
