Sharr White’s new play “The Other Place,” at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre addresses dementia, the great leveler

In Sharr White’s “The Other Place,” at the Magic Theatre through October 14, 2012, Henny Russell plays Juliana, a brilliant scientist, who is taken down by dementia as her husband, Ian, Donald Sage Mackay, struggles with what to do. Photo: courtesy Magic Theatre

In Sharr White’s The Other Place, at the Magic Theatre through October 14, 2012, Henny Russell plays Juliana, a brilliant neurologist working for a pharmaceutical company, whose mind betrays her just as she is on the cusp of developing a promising new drug designed to treat dementia.  Juliana has also repressed a horrific trauma that has re-surfaced to haunt her like a stalker. Her loving husband, Ian, Donald Sage Mackay, struggles with what to do.  This electrifying play, directed by the Magic Theatre’s Artistic Director Loretta Greco, is a finely-crafted puzzle that is sure to engage you.  If you happen to have a connection to anyone with dementia, you will be shaken to the core with its brutal honesty.   The Other Place is a recipient of the 2010 Playwrights First Award; the 2011 Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation’s Theatre Visions Fund Award; and was an Outer Critics Circle Award nominee for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.

Details:  The Other Place runs through Sunday, October 14, 2012.  The Magic Theatre is located at Fort Mason Center, Building D, 3rd Floor, San Francisco. (The entrance to Fort Mason is at the intersection of Marina Blvd and Buchanan Streets.  Tickets: $22-$62, $5 off for Seniors and Educators, Students: $22. Purchase tickets online atwww.magictheatre.org or call the Magic Theatre box office 415.441.8822.